The Barbatus King
by king carlos
Summary: So, I died. How, you ask? Who knows, I sure as hell don't. Now I am taken away to the world of DxD and have these weird 'missions' to complete or it is 'bye-bye life'. Well, at least I am someone important. The heir to the house Barbatus takes the stage, and I will survive. (grey OC/MC, progressively OP, other franchises characters like Danganronpa and Overlord, harem as it is DxD)
1. chapter 1

W-where am I?

I remember walking down the street to my house and then suddenly I'm whisked over here with no clue as to wherever this 'here' is.

I am surrounded by an empty space where everything is pure black, I can't see anything and I can't even see myself, wait a second, how do I look like right now? And what is my name?

Fuck, why can't I remember anything about myself right now?

FUCK!

" **Congratulations, you have been chosen to experience an adventure in another dimension! The system is setting everything up. Please be patient while we prepare the necessary information**."

A transparent blue window, much like the one in RPG's appeared in front of me.

Before I could think more about it, the message changed.

 **"The system is now ready. You are among the lucky few to be randomly chosen to participate in this once in a lifetime event, you will be sent to a random world from one anime franchise, this is unnegotiable so don't bother to complain since it will be useless**."

" **But, as we understand that you haven't asked to be chosen we will give you some bonuses. You can choose what body you will be using as a basis for your new one and you will be grantedtwo techniques from other franchises**."

" **Be warned, your species and location of birth is all chosen at random so we will adjust any powers to an acceptable or a similar form based on the world you will be residing in. Also, we must warn you that you will be given a set of missions when you get reincarnated and completion will be met with rewards while failure will lead to instant death**."

" **Hope you enjoy this chance of living a greater life.** "

Okay, to sum my situation up, I have to do missions or I will die, I was taken against my will, and all this was thrown at me just like that.

SIGH

I must have pissed of some god or something to deserve this. If I had any memory of who I was to begin with I would be royally pissed right now. But as I don't have any memory right now about who I am, I'm just feeling irritated. Well, it isn't like I have much of a choice right now, so I might as well get the best options possible.

First, I should try to get a human body as the base of whatever I will be. Only the being that brought me here knows what world I will be sent to, but most anime's include humans, and they have the fastest growth rate in most cases.

And if I am to choose a human I will choose the best, Joseph G. Newton, the perfect human from Terra Formars. He is someone that could only be described as perfect in every way possible, his strength, reflex, intelligence and instinct is top notch and he is talented in every single area he focuses. He would definitely be interesting and useful to have.

Now for techniques, I think that the Black Heaven and Earth Technique from The Breaker would be a safe choice. It is the best technique when it comes to power distribution on the body. If the world I will be sent to is somewhere with magic this would help me in learning and using many different powers better than anyone else, and even if it isn't a magical world I will still get an incredibly powerful body since this technique helps on that front as well.

And as for my last technique, I think I will go with the thought partitioning, the technique from Atlas magic association in the Nasu-verse. While it is not an offensive spell, the capacity of dividing my mind in various parts and focus on multiple things at the same time is just too good to pass up. This seems like a safe bet.

After I thought about what I wanted the 'system' brought up a message:

" **Please wait while we process the requests... Request accepted. Rebirth will begin now.** "

And with that my old life completely ended.

* * *

In new world

"Master, congratulations. The baby was born and it is a healthy boy." An excited maid came out of the room that earlier was filled with the screams and grunts of a woman, but now is currently filled with the sound of a baby's cry.

"HAHAHA, finally my heir was born. I finally have a descendent to carry my name!" The lord said as he boomed in laughter, he finally could show off to his friends that loved to tease him about his lack of offspring and his marriage with a half human, well he did punch anyone who dared to comment about that in a derogatory fashion. He loved his family, and now it FINALLY welcomed another member. "Let's go there Chisa, I can't wait to see my son!"

"As you wish lord Barbatus." The maid, now named Chisa said as she followed behind her master's footsteps.

When the two arrived in the room they were greeted by a smiling woman looking lovingly at a small baby on her arms.

This was a wonderful scene, almost like a painting, and after admiring the baby for a few more seconds she said "He is perfect, so beautiful and delicate. How should we name him, darling?" the woman asked barely moving her eyes away from her child.

Lord Barbatus approached slowly, as if he feared startling the baby and when he took a glimpse at the baby he smiled and said "Joseph, let's call him Joseph Barbatus." Lord Barbatus said in a deep voice, something rare for him as he loved to yell and talk loudly at all times.

"Joseph, I like it too." The woman said. "Joseph, this is your name from this day forward. Joseph Barbatus, heir to the house of Barbatus, and someone that will grow up to be amazing."

The child heard this and started crying again, his little lungs showing mote strength than most could ever believe.

* * *

4 Years Later

Well, this is just boring. I thought reincarnation would be, I don't know, exciting, but NO it is just pure boredom. Reason? Well, the fact that I am locked in the body of a small child that has people watching my every step surely isn't helping me on my plan of not dying.

Unbelievably the world I was reborn into is one I recognize very well, it is DxD. The very same world whereby boobs can grant power-ups and there are dozens of people that can destroy a continent in a matter of seconds if they try. My name is Joseph Barbatus, heir to the house of Barbatus, a devil's nobility.

This means that I should start training like hell as soon as possible and take advantage of every second possible, but this is the bad part. I cannot train even if I wanted to. Well, that is not entirely true, I can train every night after I go to 'sleep' in my room, not that I actually sleep all that much. Fun fact, this body is amazing. I only need to sleep for less than 30 seconds per day, and I don't even need to lay down to sleep either, just close my eyes for 30 seconds works just as well.

A silver lining considering that there are servants watching my every step and last time I tried to practice and they caught me and my mother scolded me for an hour. At least she promised to get me some people to train me when I become 5 years old. I have also gone through my first party to present me to the society at large.

Apparently there has been a rapid increase in child birth when I was born so there are many houses that have new heirs, so the adults decided to put all the kids together and try to stimulate some form of friendship amongst us.

My mother decided to contact an instructor to teach me etiquette and invite some teachers to help me learn early since I didn't show much interest in anything besides training. But how could I show interest in little children's toys or those retarded baby programs? I mean, those programs are as dumb as they can be.

Well, at least there is one thing I found that is interesting. It is my bodyguard in training, Peko Yama Peko. She is a small cute little thing, she looks just like a doll and every time I see her I want nothing more than to give her a cookie and pet her head. She is just that adorable, especially when she starts running after me while hugging that sword that is simply too big for her to use properly while asking me to wait for her.

She has white hair that she keeps braided in twin-tales and deep-red eyes. Her father is my father's Knight and her mother is one of the pawns from mother so she living with us is nothing strange. And the fact that she was born less than a year before me also helps in her being my only friend around here.

"Joseph! It is time for classes!" and here comes annoyance number 1, Yukizome Chisa, the Queen from my mother's peerage. She is a VERY hard-working person, and she wants my best no doubt, but she simply worries too much and is always watching to make sure that I don't run off to do something 'stupid' like training while my body is still too young and weak.

News-flash, it isn't weak at all. If anything my body is too strong for my age.

As the only thing I can train with is the black heaven and Earth technique my body has been reinforced and strengthened every single day since I was in my mother's belly.

Right now I could probably face a devil that is twice my age and win without breaking a sweat.

"Coming." I said as I jumped down from the tree I was sitting beforehand. And now we will go to Boring Land all over again.

Another perk from this body of mine is how stupidly fast I can learn, I mean, I just need to skim through the book the teacher has given me about math and I already could answer almost anything below college level. It was the same in every other school of learning, I am just too talented right now.

However, this doesn't mean the missions given to me were easy. Not by a LONG SHOT. I couldn't see all of them when I was born as apparently it has a certain order of completing that must be followed, but the few I saw were scary enough to almost give me a heart attack.

 _Stop CaoCao from bringing disaster upon Kyoto_

 _Kill Kokabiel before he annihilates Kuoh_

 _Become the champion in the young devil's competition_

 _Make sure that the peace talks between the three factions doesn't end in disaster_

 _Obtain at least one Longinus on your peerage_

 _Make sure that Kuroka doesn't have to abandon Shirone_

And this is just the first few, there are still more but I don't have a clue as to what they are yet. This means that I will have to try my best to find at least one Longinus and to make sure Kuroka's situation doesn't spin out of control and this will probably happen in a few years tops so I must hurry up and prevent the disaster that was Kuroka's doing in CANON to happen.

...Well, it is not like I can do something right now so I might as well just go see this class Chisa is calling me for.

* * *

Chisa's P.O.V.

My name is Chisa. I am a servant to lady Yuki Barbatus (originally Valefor) and I'm proud to say that I am good at my job. I help clean the mansion and provide anything else my lady might want.

My life is very good, even if a bit boring since my Lady stopped participating in rating games after she got married. Well, the boringness stopped a few years ago thanks the new additions to the house. The two small children that run all around the mansion non-stop nowadays, Peko and Joseph, are a mouthful. Joseph in particular is someone that I'll never get tired of messing with. I don't know who taught him that training regime that he loves to do so much, but it is clear as day that he is not normal. He is more mature and responsible than any kid his age should be, he is also absurdly talented and smart. A perfect heir to the house of Barbatus.

However my master said he should wait until he is 5 years old before he starts training in earnest, but I talked to the house head and he said to start teaching him in swordsmanship as this is the bread and butter for the house of Barbatus, the house with the specialty involving their unique and powerful swords.

As he approached me I could not help but marvel at how he looked. He had a very fit body for one so young, his hair was very lush and with a brilliant gold that matched well with his azure blue eyes. All in all he looked like he had the best parts possible from both his parents. I can already imagine how many girls will be running after him before long, and I could bet Peko-Chan will be one of them, and probably will try to remove the competition.

"So? Where is the instructor for today?" Young master said, not even trying to hide his boredom anymore.

I smiled at this, I just want to see how long he can keep this nonchalant facade when he hears what I have to say.

"Today we will be doing something different. We will be using the Barbatus' house trait for the first time!" I said excitedly, and sure enough he was almost jumping in joy from my words. This is something he wanted to try out since the first time he heard what the trait was. And it is understandable since this is a trait that will help him in getting much stronger while also helping him in deciding his future path. "Now, repeat to me what the trait is in your own words."

He nodded before he recited what he knew about it.

"The trait of house Barbatus is soul weaponification. It allows for one to release a small part of his soul and turn it into a sword. This sword has two possible forms after you grow strong enough and the characteristics of it is intrinsically related to the individual whom made it. The blade also looses all its powers in case it isn't the user that has it in hands so stealing it is known as a useless matter." young master said, and he, as always, was absolutely correct.

This house trait is extremely versatile, but in exchange no one knows how strong the blade will be or if it is even useful for direct combat. There have been cases of those from the house who had weapons capable of healing, sealing, and many other unique powers which differ from user to user.

"Correct. Your father authorized me to help you in this process so as to make sure you have it ready before the party of tomorrow night. He would be here right now if he could, as you know VERY well, but he had a meeting with the council about what to do with a Nekoshou that went out of control. The situation at least is not the worst possible since they captured her, if not, the more BONE HEADED members would do something stupid like start a purge."

Weird, why is young master's face pale right now?

"Young master is everything alright? You look a little pale."

Joseph's P.O.V.

Shit, wasn't this supposed to happen years down the line? Why is it happening now?

No time for that, I must plan what I must do carefully or I WILL die. I am just 4, I don't want to die until I am at least a few thousand years old!

Wait, calm down me. Freaking out now isn't going to solve anything. What I have to do is talk to father to see what I can do. Maybe he would let her stay with us, but for that I need to impress him enough to make him do what I ask.

He loves to spoil me anyway.

Sigh, now that I am calmer we can start the process.

"It's nothing, I am just curious as to what happened. Maybe there is more to it that it seems." I told Chisa, and if I am not wrong she believes my lie.

"Okay, then it is time to start the process." Chisa said, taking out a sword handle. It wasn't anything fancy but it still was quite beautiful in its own way. "Put your hand on this and focus everything you have on it. If everything goes well, a sword will manifest and you will be a proper Barbatus heir." Chisa said with a radiant smile.

Okay, so I just have to put my hand here and focus, huh.

As I put my hand on the handle I felt a burning sensation spread around my body, almost like I was on fire. But, this did not stop me as I let said fire fully 'consume' me before I redirected it back to the handle.

And with that my weapon, one that would one day cause fear in the hearts of many, was born.

The strongest magical blade for the one that would one day be called the strongest devil of all times.

* * *

 **Betaed by Fanfiction0000**


	2. Chapter 2

After obtaining my sword I can honestly say I was beyond excited.

I saw my father using his own to 'show off' and I admit that it was awesome. He only released its first form since the second was too dangerous, but even then he was strong enough to, with one single swing, cut down the peak of a mountain more than 4 kilometers away.

I could not hear the name of his sword quite clearly, but its appearance and power changed when he called its name and I want to be able to do the same as well.

I basically come from a clan of fucking Shinigami's! How could I not be excited about having the equivalent to a zampakutou?!

"*COUGH*COUGH*" Chisa released a very fake cough to call for my attention, I may have spaced out while looking at my weapon. "I know you are excited about this development, but you must understand that this is no toy. While it is true that it is incapable of wounding you it still is more than capable of cutting others so you should always be careful with it. You may go back to rest as this process usually tires one out quite a bit and tomorrow is your big day and I don't want you to look like a rotten orange!" Chisa said energetically, with me only capable of sweat drop at this while giving a wry smile. She has quite a few weird costumes, but overall is a good enough person.

Huh, now that she told me of it I AM quite tired. I should do as she said, but before that I have to ask her one thing.

"Chisa, can you wake me up when father gets home? I want to talk to him!"

"Sure, I doubt I even have to do that considering the way he acts but I will go call you as soon as he arrives. I think he and your mother will want to see you as soon as they arrive." Chisa said.

"So mom will be coming too? I thought she was too busy on her fashion tour in Milan." My mother was a well-known fashion designer in the human world and in the underworld. She usually is quite busy, but she always finds some time to spend with me. But considering it is the fashion week I am surprised she can still find time for me.

Don't get me wrong, I love the fact she can find the necessary time but I also know how busy she usually is because of her work.

"Of course she found the time. It was not easy but she managed it somehow. Now go on, you should rest before tonight. Your father said he wants to tell you how to use the sword and you must also prepare for the party tomorrow." Chisa said seriously.

I nodded and went right to bed, my eyelids already feeling quite heavy.

*KNOCK KNOCK*

"Joseph-bochama, the clan head has arrived. I heard a voice coming from the other side of the door.

Why can't he arrive a bit later? It has only been three hours, and while normally that would be much more than enough time for me to be back to normal, right now I want nothing more than to rest some more.

I did not realize how tiresome the use of the house trait was, but I really want to rest some more!

Sigh, unfortunately it is not to be. Peko-Chan is already here and knowing her she will continue standing on the other side of the door until I get up. She is absurdly dedicated for such a little girl, she just turned 4 years old last month, but she still acts way too dedicated to me.

"I am going, Peko-chan."

"Young master, please don't call me with a -Chan! I am just a weapon, using such cute name in me is unnecessary."

Damn, I can almost see her pouting. It is always funny how much she likes to copy her father, he comes from a clan of bodyguards to my family that work under us for the last few thousand years. But, even knowing that I don't want to hear her calling herself a weapon or whatever. She may be already training to be my bodyguard, but I want her as my cute friend.

Thinking that I opened the door to see her standing there all serious and emotionless, but I know just how to break this fake front of hers.

HUG

KISS ON THE CHEECK

And with that she becomes all flustered. Her face is all beet red to the point that it looks just like her eyes. She can't even form full sentences right now.

"What are you waiting for Peko-Chan, let's go!" and with that I caught her hand and started walking ahead to where my family probably is, sometimes I give little peeks at her to see how she is and her face being all red and not knowing what to do is just so funny.

Yep, she definitely is too cute.

Opening the door to the living room I was greeted to the sight of both my parents.

My father, Alexius Barbatus is a very imposing man. He was extremely fit, with extremely defined muscles, a handsome face with a small piercing bellow his chin and with long red hair and deep blue eyes. His very presence make others feel inferior, and with his trusted sword on the side he clearly is among the most powerful devils alive, many say he should have been the new Asmodeus since he too was just as strong and has a much better work ethic than that lazy bones. But his father was not interested, he choose to be one of the new elders in the council and work in changing the laws in a more direct fashion to try and improve the life of the lower class devils.

My mother was with him. She was a beautiful woman with fair skin, voluptuous figure and shiny golden hair that looked almost like golden treads. Her soft smile was something that could heal anyone in my opinion, she was as beautiful as any woman could ever hope to be.

When father saw me entering the room he smiled and said with his usual confident voice.

"Son, I am happy to see you! Show me it already, I need at least one good thing for today." Mom pinched his waist. "Besides being besides your mother, of course." She nodded, and I admit I almost laughed out loud from this. The two are really a perfect match, both equally confident and demanding, even if sometimes mom seems to be the one using the pants on the house.

I then released Peko-Chan's hand and took out the sword that was hanging from my back (it was too big to post it on any other place). When I took it out I noticed that it was slightly different from before as it now had some small carvings and ornaments here and there.

Seeing my shocked face father smiled and said.

"So this is your sword, it is a good blade. And it seems like it is already finishing its carving process, good to know."

"Carving?" I asked as I heard nothing about this before.

"Oh, did I forgot to tell you? When a member of the Barbatus clan creates his sword it is only released in its most elementary and basic form, but the higher the potential the user has the faster it will begin what we call 'carving' in which the sword starts fully fusing with the piece of your soul there. Considering how fast it started happening then we can expect that you will probably reach the first release before you are 12, at least that is what happened to me so maybe you can reach it too by then."

Oh, I will get my sword release so early, lucky.

Seeing my happy face mother approached me and said sternly.

"I know you are happy with your sword, but remember that tomorrow will be your big day so you should try not to do anything reckless until then. You are our precious treasure and we will make sure that everyone knows it." She then smiled sweetly and said. "If everything goes well I will get some free time after tomorrow and you will be able to help you in using the house trait you received from my side too, the power over gravity."

That is gonna be so awesome! I can even imagine already, my enemies being all cocky before I increase the gravity around them and make them kneel down before me. And there are just so many ways to go about using this power, it is fun just to imagine what I will do with it.

...Shit. I was getting so excited with this new development that I almost forgot what I had to do.

"Father, I heard that something happened to make you late today. What was that all about?"

"Ah, that huh. Apparently a Nekoshou went crazy, killed her master and tried to escape. But she sure was unlucky as she had chosen to escape through our territory and was promptly captured before she could take one step out of our land. The other elders are thinking of killing her, but I am trying to stop them as we still don't know the situation involving her with all details so an execution is probably too hasty of a decision." He explained. Him explaining all of this to his son while he isn't even 5 may sound weird, but our family produces many leaders and members of the military from thousands of years and it is a costume to teach the new generation since young about the world, politics and military matters.

"I understand, but what was decided?" I asked.

"I managed to avoid execution for now, but unless we find out what happened, prove her innocence and find someone to keep her she will be executed." he said with a sigh. Devil's politics are, as my father usually says, a bloody nightmare. There are just too many factions and there are few who actually care about what is correct and fair, most just care about taking advantage and looking after themselves first and foremost. I bet they hadn't even heard her side before there being calls for her execution.

"Father, where is she right now?"

"She is on the dungeons under the house. They asked me to send her to the dungeon of the capital, but I refused since I know there would be the risk of someone just killing her before a verdict is reached."

I nodded at his decision, it was probably the best option as there have been antecedents of this sort of thing happening in the past. I then got an idea of what to do.

"Father, let's go see her. If she is truly innocent maybe she could stay here with us!"

"No." mother said, interrupting the conversation. "We are not sure of the reason she did what she did and if she attacks and hurt you I don't even want to imagine what I will do."

"But Mom-"

"No 'buts'. She will not be staying anywhere near you, young man." Mom said with a Stern face. All I could do was turn to father for help, he was about to agree with Mom but I used the secret technique that only small kids can use.

The puppy dog eyes.

And it was super effective.

"Dear, if she truly is innocent we could leave her under the care of Chisa, she most definitely can subdue her if the need arises and this way Joseph here would have more people to talk with. You too have commented about the fact he needs more friends around his age and she has only turned 9 not so long ago therefore she would fit in well. Maybe she could even be a member of his peerage in the future." Father said, and adding my puppy dog eyes mother relented and agreed to it.

"Fine, but only if Chisa agrees with this and if she truly is a victim." She said and I hugged her and gave her a kiss on the cheek for it, which she smiled to.

After that we had dinner with me teasing Peko-Chan every chance I got and father laughing out loud to it while mom smiled playfully as well.

"Joseph, would you like to see the new models I just made?" mother asked me as I instantly agreed. It may sound weird but as I grew up seeing mother's work I ended up gaining an interes in fashion designing as well. Mom even let me work with it every once in a while and she said that if I keep at it she will introduce me to the work as well.

No need to say that the model for my clothes is usually Peko-chan. It helps that I even work with cosplaying, and I got to say that making Peko dress up as a magical girl is just too funny.

One bad aspect of this body is that I am always looking for things to entertain me as everything just becomes too easy to me after a while.

"Sure, let's go to your study to see it." I said, but before that.

"Sorry dear, but Joseph will be coming with me." Father said. "If he is so insistent about helping that girl he should at least know her and we should hear her story as well."

Mother sighed in defeat and let the two of us go.

As father and I entered the dungeon I could not help but notice the smell. It was honestly disgusting, but I shouldn't expect much better considering how we usually put here those who try to invade devil territory. The territory of house Barbatus is right on the limits of the devil territory and is surrounded by a few tribes of other species like the elves, giants, werewolves, fallen angels, fairies and demons.

Weird, I know. Many consider devils and demons being one and the same but this is far from the truth. Demons are humanoid creatures that usually just live for carnage and most of the time are stupid beings that go out devouring and hunting whatever they see. There are a few exceptions, but even then they are usually hunted down by their own kind so it only natural to not trust them.

Well, I would still like to meet one who wasn't from the idiotic kind, maybe it could be part of my peerage.

Anyway, considering how surrounded we are by potential enemies we constantly have new 'guests' in these dungeons, most being idiots that want nothing more than to attack us, assassins from one other clan, or just your regular spy. Naturally we developed methods to extract info from them, and these methods sometimes are quite messy and this smell is the result.

The smell of blood and putrid flesh.

And in one of the cells we saw our target, a girl that couldn't possibly be any older than 9 years old. She was chained to the wall by her neck and arms with special chains that blocked her powers completely. She had a wrathful face, as if she wanted nothing more than to bite our heads off and get away from here.

Considering how scantily dressed she was we could see multiple marks of torture and punishment in her entire body, but one thing attracted me attention more. The fact that her ears were of the wrong color. Instead of black her hair was maroon and she only had one PINK tail.

"Here she is, the Nekoshou Hainekou." father said, much for my confusion. "Didn't you have questions for her? Go right ahead."

Well, at least this means that Kuroka's situation still might be more salvageable. I may have wasted all this effort, but on the other hand I know that Kuroka is still with her scummy master and I still have time to accumulate influence and power to save her.

Anyway, now that I am here anyway I might as well ask Hainekou what happened.

I entered the cell slowly as I didn't want to startle her and when I was close enough I took of her chains as a sign of good will. Father is here anyway so she definitely will not manage to wound me anyway.

After I did that she warily looked at me, probably waiting to be attacked, but I did nothing as I took a step back and presented her with a chair to sit down.

Father was looking at everything from a slight distance as he wanted to see how this would go.

As she sat down I could see how exhausted she was, her body almost dismantled on the chair as her tiredness won over her wariness and she simply sat down in utter exhaustion.

"Your name is Hainekou, right? It's nice meeting you, my name is Joseph Barbatus." I said, presenting my hand for a handshake. She, very slowly, took my hand and shook it back.

"Hainekou." is what she said, her voice quite horsy and dry. She seems to be suffering from dehydration and malnutrition, and it doesn't seem to be from just one day either. Just looking at her ideas about what happened to her already formed in my head, and none of them is good.

"Hainekou, I know this will probably be hard to believe but I want you to listen to what I have to say carefully since this might be your last chance. I want to hear YOUR side of the story, the reason for you to kill your master and everything involved. Right now we are the only chance you have of keeping your head, so you can either talk now or keep your story to the tomb as these are the only options left to you." I said, my voice filled with power despite how young I am. My father nodded on the back, if it was in agreement to what I said or if it was due to being proud pf me was anyone's guess.

Hainekou looked at me with distrust, but after a while she relented and started telling her story.

"I don't remember my parents, but I heard that my old tormentor killed them due to some disagreement with a payment. My first few memories were of him, he abused me physically constantly because I was his 'pet toy', and I only knew pain back then. I even remember how he once beat me to the brink of death more than once."

At this her voice started trembling, she tried to talk but words could not get out at all so I turned to father who had an impassive face as he produced a cup out of sheer demonic energy before filling it with water by the use of water magic. He passed the cup to me and I repassed it to Hainekou, who took it without even knowing what to do exactly. Yet she managed to drink it, and with it she calmed down somewhat, at least calm enough to continue her tale.

"After he beat me to the brink of death so many times he ended up going one strp further once and he resurrected me as a Pawn for his peerage after killing me, his words were that he still needed me to relieve the stress from his work. Apparently I was the perfect softness to not hurt his precious hands but still firm enough to make the right amount of sound effect. Even my scream were appreciated as he sometimes asked the other servants to beat me up while he sleeps just to have a better night of sleep." At this she could only start releasing her tears as if a damn had broken in her face.

Father was looking at this with a serious face, but considering how the metal bars from the cell that he was holding were bending over while it should be impossible to do it I can safely assume he is 'just a bit' pissed right now.

And it is a mutual feeling, I am doing my best to not go to her side and start saying that everything will be okay.

"What happened that made you snap and kill him?" I asked, this time in a much more gentle tone of voice.

"I-I heard from the other servants that he discovered that I had a sacred gear. I didn't know what that meant but when he took me to a room and started saying how blessed he was that now he would be getting a sacred gear for himself, I understood what he meant. He was going to remove my sacred gear and install it on himself, he was going to kill me again. I-I couldn't take it anymore.

I tried to escape him, but his hands, always oily and stinky, held me down. I then saw him raise his fist to hit me again and I just reacted. I don't know how but my sacred gear activated and he died before I could think of anything. Seeing this I could only think of getting away from there, I have heard from the others that I could get back to the were-beast area if I passed through here. As I am part were-beast I thought it would be my best chance, but I was captured anyway.

But please, even if you are going to kill me, please save the others! Please!!" She said, sniffing all the while to the point that by the end of it I could barely hear her voice. Yet the message was clear as day for anyone who looked for it.

Father could no longer sit back as he advanced one step before asking.

"There are others?" It was quite unusual, my father speaking in a low tone like this.

"Yes, there were a few others just like me. They too were tormented by that monster, there were 5 too that were turned against their will after being killed and one who was captured not long ago and they probably can all die any moment now. That monster's family probably will want to hide any proof of what I just said, we were just toys anyway so who would care if we were to die, right? RIGHT?" She said, but I simply stepped forward and gave her a hug.

She did not know how to react, she probably never had anyone being gentle to her for as long as she remembers, but I will make sure to change that.

After the shock she started looking all around, trying to understand what was going on, but after some time her eyes started tearing up again and this time she did not stop until she passed out. Her body being too weak to hold itself together anymore.

Without even asking father I put her in my arms and started carrying her out of here.

She deserves better than to stay in this place a moment more.


	3. chapter 3

After taking Hainekou to a decent room I searched for someone that could take care of her while I went to look for my father.

In the end I found someone to ask in order to help Hainekou.

"Jeremiah, I need your help." I sad to the man passing by. He was dressed just like a noble with plenty orange and a face mask covering one of his eye. This was Jeremiah Gottwald, one of my father's knights and one of the few peerage members that usually stayed in the mansion since most were distributed across the territory of the family.

When I called him over, Jeremiah looked at me surprised, but quickly adjusted himself and said, "Young Lord, is there anything that you need from me?"

"Yes. I need you to watch over the girl inside as I need to find a doctor for her." I replied.

Considering his face, he probably did not approve of my decision most likely thinking it was below me to go do that when there are servants to do this sort of menial work, but he relented and did as I asked anyway.

After he agreed to look after her I went out to look for the family's doctor. Running across the mansion grounds I probably attracted lots of attention as I rarely ever run around like that, but I have no time to think about that right now.

Reaching a separate area from the mansion I entered without invitation and went straight to the doctor's room.

"Doctor, I need your help." I said as soon as I entered the room.

The doctor was, for the lack of better words, one of the tiny dwarfs around the mansion. One of the princesses amongst them, the princess Mansherry. She was my father's bishop and she lives here as a sign of good will, something relatively common for my house as we are close to many races and have a political and diplomatic relations with them.

The princess Mansherry was a really tiny individual with long blond hair and a pointy nose.

"What has got you in a hurry, Joseph-kun? Why are you acting this way?" She asked as I simply took her in my hands and took out running back to the room where Hainekou was located.

On the way I explained the situation to her and after hearing about it she told me to run faster.

I obliged.

After we got there I thanked Jeremiah while princess Mansherry started using the healing magic from her clan. It was just like the phoenix tears, but instead of water or the Phoenix Tears its effects were much more all-encompassing but it would only start healing right after she releases it so storing it is useless.

"What happened to the girl exactly, Joseph-sama?" Jeremiah asked as he saw clearly all the cuts, bruises, and how weak her body was. It clearly was too much for someone who had only been in the dungeon for just a day and we would have long killed someone before reaching this point.

I started talking, describing what she said and the situation involving her and her late master.

"How dare someone who calls himself a noble do these barbarous things to a little child? If he wasn't already dead I would go and kill him myself for tarnishing the title of a noble." Jeremiah said, his hand already on the handle of his sword as he went out to look for my father to see what shall be done.

All I could do was look and do nothing as he went out, because now it was up to father to decide what to do and anything I say will not change his mind, secondly Jeremiah is simply too fast for me to accompany his speed.

After that I decided to go and see Peko-Chan as I doubt mother is still here, considering the time she is just that busy.

"Haa!"

SLASH

Reaching her training place I saw that she was currently training with her father, Munakata Peko.

Her training consisted of one thing first and foremost, challenging her father over and over again while he barely ever talked. This may seem weird, but as he always aimed at her weakest spot and controlled his strength enough to not actually hurt her it was just fine. Apparently, his family always trained this way, learning from the pain or something like that.

I approached quietly, careful not to disturb Peko as she was doing that serious face of hers while being completely focused on the fight.

It was a beautiful sight, someone putting all their effort into what they do is something beautiful to see.

I continued looking, it was a sight to behold and I wanted this to keep going but it was not to be as Munakata stopped the training as one of the maids entered the room and said my parents were calling for him and some of the other servants that were in the mansion.

He said to Peko to go over what she learned today and left while giving me a small bow of the head as a sign of respect.

As she was just about to sit down I entered her field of vision. She instantly stood back up and said "Young Lord, since when did you arrive?" with her face being a bit red from embarrassment, she didn't like it when I watched her when she wasn't looking good. It is strange considering she should still be too young to care about appearance but it is probably just how most girls are anyway.

"I've been here for a while now, and I must say that watching you train is still beautiful. It's like some of those warrior princesses from TV." I said beaming at her, making her smile in return. She really suffers from a lack of self-esteem and although I am not sure why she has this way of thinking I hope to fix that someday.

She looks down embarrassed as she asked "D-Do y-you want to t-t-t-train with me?"

She is stuttering, this is so CUTE!

"Sure, I would love to train with you." We then retrieved two bamboo swords and started the training (and I was fully hoping mother doesn't hear about this as she just might flip out), though not knowing how my earlier actions are about to ruin many people's lives.

Not that I would care about them, society's tumors should be eliminated with prejudice for all I care.

In another room the head of the Barbatus family was sitting down beside his wife after finishing narrating the story he just heard.

After he finished telling the story to his wife, she stood up and said "You can use my peerage as you see fit. I have to return to the human world now, but know that I believe that you will do the right thing and remove this stain from society. Forgiveness must not be given to this sort of scum."

"I never intended to forgive them anyway. I think I should move a bit and show those aristocrats leeches that they are not that untouchable." Alexius said before turning to the side to look at his Queen. "I am counting on your intellect for this, Demiurge."

Demiurge is one of the rare demons that were fully capable of rational thought, not only that but he is also known as one of the most capable and masterful strategists of the entire devil race. He is as tall as a regular human, he has diamond-like eyes, pointy ears, spiked hair, and slightly tan skin. He was wearing his typical 2 pieces of formal red suit and was on his knees as he said "Everything shall be as you desire, my Lord. I already have a few strategies that could be implemented this time around to deal with these insects that annoyed you so greatly."

"Good."

Both Alexius and his wife said together, proving how synced they are in most matters.

"Then I shall be taking my leave. Until tomorrow dear, I want to see the spectacle you will show me." Yuki Barbatus said as she activated a teleportation magic circle, disappearing completely from that space.

After his wife left Alexius reclined on his chair and turned to his Queen.

"As we wait for the others to arrive, I have a question for you, how are my son's classes going?" Alexius asked.

Demiurge smiled and said.

"He has been most excellent. He learns everything I teach him as if a sponge taking water, his instincts and intellect will surely make the house Barbatus grow further in the future." Demiurge said, his fond smile was genuine as he said those words, but Alexius knew that this smile was the exact same Demiurge usually had whenever he managed to ruin an enemy's life or extract information from someone after a session of 'anatomy studies'.

Well, not that Alexius minded. He already knew what sort of being Demiurge was from the start and he also knew that for someone like him who was surrounded by enemies on all sides (either those from other races or those who disliked his work in the devil's council) needed those who were evil and smart enough to get the results required no matter the cost.

"Good, continue the good work and be sure to teach him everything he might need to deal with the darker side of society." Alexius said and Demiurge nodded in acceptance.

Right after that, the other servants arrived and when the preparations were done they quietly went out.

It was time to hunt.

After sleeping the whole night, proving how tiresome the weapon creation and scribing was, I stood up and went out to see if Hainekou was alright right now.

I knocked on the door but heard no reply, but this is my house and I just wanted to see how she is doing so I opened the door.

She was awake alright, so much so that she was looking at me cautiously from the ground, where her pillow was, and that showed clear signs of her sleeping there (the fur being a dead giveaway).

"Was the bed uncomfortable?" I asked, even though I could imagine her reason to not sleeping on the bed (most likely distrust) I think it is best to ask this. If anything this question may help in disarming her cautious if only just a bit.

"...Why am I still alive?" She asked, her voice clearly a bit more energetic then last night.

"Because you are innocent." I said, and I meant it. I honestly doubt my father would have gone there himself to ask for her side of the story and Demiurge's methods are 'a bit' extreme. If she would survive or even be whole after his questions was in doubt.

She looks confused, so I decided to continue talking.

"My father went out last night after hearing your words, what happened to you should never have happened and he went out to investigate the truth about your words. He probably will be back later today, so until he returns and tell us what he discovered you should remain here in this room and rest. We will probably be sending you something to eat shortly so sit tight and wait for the food to arrive, I will have you know that our cooks are among the very best." I said before turning to leave, this is probably a lot to take in so it would be best if I gave her some space, no point in pressuring her further.

Oh, I almost forgot.

"Please rest in the bed, it is yours for the time being so you might as well enjoy a decent rest after doing so much."

Before she could reply I walked out of the door. I wanted to make sure she was fine, and she is about as good as she could right now so I have nothing to worry about for now.

What I have to do right now is to go to the library for a bit, to see if I can look for the books about magic from multiple schools and see if there is anything about Touki as I bet it would fit in well with the Black Heaven and Earth Technique.

After looking through the books for a while I did not find any about what I wanted, but I did find a book describing the unique races that used to exist around our territory.

Looking at their description I could see that they were once quite powerful and amongst them there were the insectuous werewolves. They were very powerful and they were separated into smaller divisions depending on the race. They had a myriad of unique skills that no other species could copy.

However they were exterminated due to being surrounded by too many enemy species, the insectuous werewolves were too prideful to ever ally with anyone else, and their demise was mostly due to exhaustion more than anything else. Their remaining members were mostly taken as slaves, and are now reasons why making alliances are important.

That is why we are allied to some of the tribes close by, especially the Giants, dwarfs, gnomes, driads, and even some connections with the fallen angels (even if we still are wary of them and don't allow for a single one to enter our territory without constant supervision).

"Young Lord, your father has returned and requests your presence." A maid said from the entrance of the library.

"Okay." I said simply before standing up. "Where is he right now?" I asked.

"He is in his office, apparently he has a lot of paperwork to take care of right now." She said, and I realized why he was calling for me. Normally he SHOULD be the one to take care of the paperwork, but when he's with me he can leave it to Sebas (his mutation rook) and Demiurge to take care of it all.

If there truly is a lot of paperwork (AKA his most hated enemy) than calling for me is the way to go.

"Understood, thanks for the hard work Cixous." I said to her with a smile. She nodded and indicated for me to follow.

Approaching my father's study I was greeted to the image of him surrounded by multiple stacks of papers that were taller than me. I feel sorry for whoever has to deal with all this.

Father was working on it, but considering how his face illuminated the instant he saw me I can already predict that he will not continue this for much longer.

"Son, it's good to see you. I have urgent matters to talk to you right this instant and it definitely cannot wait." he said righteously, but he wasn't fooling anyone. "I am leaving the rest in your hands." he said to Demiurge, Sebas, and Jeremiah (poor man, he hates paperwork even more than father).

Following that, me and father left the study/hell and went to an adjacent room.

After getting properly comfortable father started to talk.

"Last night I and the others raided the house of the previous owner of Hainekou. We properly investigated everything and found clear evidence of what Hainekou said, we also found the other 6 that she talked about and they are now under our tutelage until the proper procedure is done." he said making me bail my hands in tight fists. To think that the scum get out so easily, he didn't even properly suffer, it was infuriating.

"And the other servants? I doubt that he was the only one involved."

"While it's true that they were involved we could do nothing about it since according to the law what that noble did was not illegal, but we found evidence of him selling confidential information of the devil race to other groups." he said, making my eyes widen in shock.

"He was a traitor to the entire race?" I asked with a surprised tone.

Father shrugged his shoulders and said.

"Probably not, we just found conclusive evidence of the fact after looking for it. And the most amazing fact is that all the messages had the same calligraphy as mine. Small world isn't it?"

"HAHAHAHA, now it's good. He and his servants are fully screwed now. HAHAHAHA." I said as I could not stop laughing. However, after laughing for a while I realized a problem. "But finding this 'evidence' is fine? Won't it cause any problems down the road?"

"Naah, don't worry so much about It." he waved my worries off as if they were nothing. "That guy was barely a Baron, no one would go to his help if that means offending a Duke house. To be honest, if I were to say he was looking at me funny and thus I killed him on the spot, there wouldn't be any form of commotion. Ranks in nobility are the most important thing, if the difference is too big they become nothing to us. As long as we don't do this sort of thing too often and don't eliminate an entire household everything will be fine.

In this case, I left his youngest son alive and he will be staying with us until he is old enough to take care of his territory. Until then we will have the custody of his entire belongings and we will administrate them as we see fit. If he proves himself good and a resource for the devil race we will help him progress much further, if not, well I suppose there are others who would love the noble title and are capable enough." He explained.

Well, at least we will be fine. We can even educate him to work under us in the future, or at the very least make sure he never thinks of rebelling against us.

I guess this is one of the advantages of being among the highest rankings amongst the nobility.

"Anyway, tomorrow's your big day as it's your birthday tomorrow but the party starts tonight so be sure to be ready. Also, we just received confirmations of presence from the Driads, Giants, and Dark Elves so be sure to look into the information we have on them in the library later today. Also, we should go see those six. They too are quite weakened due to their previous conditions of threatment and curent injuries, we are treating them right now with the best healing we can as well as giving as much nurishment as possible so you should go see them tomorrow together with the little cat." he said before turning around to leave and saying, "Now let's go."

Beta: Fanfiction0000


	4. chapter 4

After the talk I went to see how the new arrivals were doing. They were put in the room adjacent to Hainekou's so I could go see her too.

Entering the room I saw the six people there. They were all children, mostly around my age.

First was a girl with long black hair and eyes. She looks Japanese, but at the same time does not. To be honest she doesn't even feel human at all, but she also doesn't feel like a devil and it is hard to put a finger on what she is. Weird.

The second one was a girl with empty blue eyes and blonde hair. She also looks human but is different all the same. She is currently looking at me strangely, almost as if I am going to be her lunch.

The third one is a boy with reddish hair and a large scar on the side of his face coming from mouth. He looks feral, especially due to his obviously inhuman characteristics such as the slight fur covering his entire body. If I were to guess he seems to be a Fanalis, a race of werewolves that are amongst those that are close to extinction.

The fourth one is a girl with short pink hair and golden eyes, she has a sleepy face and seems to be the youngest here. But what calls for attention is the fact that she has wings on her back. Draconic wings. She is most likely a half dragon, we will need to investigate who her parents are exactly or it could lead to some serious problems down the road.

And this leads us to the fifth one here. It is a boy with horns on his head, long black spiky hair and it was clear that his body looked a bit unstable, almost as if he would disintegrate in pure gas at any moment. He is probably the mix between a goat werewolf and a gas elemental, however that happened.

The final one is a girl with red eyes, the strange thing about it is that she has more than one set as there were two other smaller sets above the first ones. Her hair is stilled in two chignons and her exposed skin seems a bit hard. She is probably a mixed race between a human and an insectuous, a pariah to both species and being raised as a slave to boot I can only say she is truly unlucky.

"Hello, is everything okay?" I asked a bit nervous. "Have you all eaten already?"

"What do you want from us? Pets? Slaves?" the reddish hair boy asked me with a snarl. The others were glaring at me with varied levels of animosity.

"I don't really want anything from you, we just saved you all because it was the right thing to do and because Hainekou asked." I said, earning a few raised eyebrows from the mention of the other ex-slave that ran away.

"Is big sis Hainekou alive?" the sleepy eyed girl asked.

"Yes, and she is in the room. You guys can go meet her after you answer a few questions of mine. First I would like to know your names, second I would like to know if there are any family members that could come pick you up, and to be totally honest with you, this is all I need to know." I said to them.

This time it was the other boy, the one that gave the impression of his body being close to disintegrate, that talked.

"And why should we trust you? Or answer your questions?"

"Simple, because we need to know if there is anyone out there that might be looking for you. If there are we will send you to then, if not we would need to think what to do with you and educate you so as to live properly when you are strong and mature enough to handle yourself."

"And why should any of us trust an inferior life form?" the black haired girl asked with disdain.

"Simple, because you don't have anything to worry about now as long as I am here and I swear on my word that I will do as I say. I swear on the name of Joseph Barbatus, the next head to the house of Barbatus, one of the Dukes from the devil race." I said exuding a LOT of confidence, I sometimes wonder if the original Joseph was so confident that it was already intrinsically connected to his very body to be this sure of oneself.

They all still looked quite a bit distrustful, but relented in the end and accepted my words for what they are.

"Shuololololo, fine then. My name is Ceasar Clown, I am a pawn and a mix blood between a goat-type werewolf and a gas elemental. My father died before I was born and mother left me as it is the custom among her species, so I don't have any family to go to right now." The goat-like boy said. Now that I am paying attention he seems to be at my age, give or take one year.

"My name is Epsilon, a pawn or at least this is what that fat man used to call me. I don't have any family to speak off as I am a mix blood between a Mimic Slime and a Predator Slime, both were killed while I was sold as a slave for that man. He thought I could become quite powerful with time, so here I am now." the blonde haired and blue eyed girl said, making me a bit uncomfortable. Slimes were well known as targets for extermination but talking to one CAPABLE of answer is a shock.

"Sigh, I really don't want to talk with you but I suppose there isn't any other way. My name is Gamma, a pawn and a Doppelganger. I don't have parents anymore. Both were killed by that man when he discovered that they were lying about being devils to get better treatment on his territory. I have been his slave ever since." Gamma said, making me wince at this.

"My name is Zeta, a pawn. My mother abandoned me when I was born and I don't really remember anything before being in the old master's dungeon. I was to look after his gardens at night to make sure no bugs destroyed it. Please don't ask me to stay out during the night, I don't like being in the dark and cold alone." The insectuous girl said. She does seems like the youngest amongst them all, she barely seems 3 for Lucifer's sake. Despite her 'eccentric' appearance she makes me want to cuddle her and say everything is fine.

"Okay, so you can call me big brother from now on. I will protect you little sis." I said, I honestly could not resist. They all look at me funnily but I don't care about that. She is just too cute (again, I partially blame this body for liking insects this much).

She looks confused, but I petted her head and smiled at her. There is just something about her that makes me want to look out for her.

Seeing me act like this made the others drop their guards a bit more.

"Fine, I will talk. My name is Lo'lo a Fanalis. I never met my parents, I was born in an underground Colosseum and was supposed to fight until my death from the moment I was born. My parents died there due to being too weak and I probably would have died there too if it wasn't for that damn fatty taking a fancy on my potential for a Rook, which I am. He took me to his house to be properly 'trained' in servitude, but I will NEVER follow a weak or cruel person so I can proudly say that all those lessons did not work." the reddish haired boy said.

"Good to know. I think you are correct. To lead someone needs to EARN the respect, not simply demand it with money or torture." I commented, earning from him an approving nod. "And you?" I asked the last girl here.

She was looking like she was just about to fall asleep when I called out to her, she then turned to me and said.

"My name is Phillufy, I am a pure dragon, my father is the dragon king Midgardsormr and my mother is Tiamat. I would like to go see them." Okay, THIS one is someone we HAVE to take care of extremely well.

While true that dragons are extremely independent and usually leave their young when they are very young to fend for themselves she still seems to be just 4 years old tops, I don't think they would just leave her unprotected.

If those two discovered we had their child and did not gave it back we can expect some form of retaliation. Possibly, maybe, doubtfully, who really knows? Now that I think about it, Midgardsormr is known for not caring about anything much and enjoying sleeping all the time while Tiamat is just too chaotic to truly predict, just look at how she sometimes appears to be one of the administrators of the rating games, sometimes stay in the familiar Forrest to see if anyone dares to try and make her a familiar, and she even goes to rampage across the human world every once in a while just because she feels like it. Predicting her reaction is just about useless.

"Okay, we will go see them later. I promise that you will be alright." I told her, but then I heard a loud grumbling sound coming from her and the others. "But first we will have breakfast, alright?"

Some looked a bit embarrassed, but amongst them I noticed that Ceasar looked just fine with going to have a meal and that Phillufy's eyes are a bit wider and there is a bigger light on them now.

I called for one of the maids to go and prepare an extra-large meal for them while I lead them to the door on the side. To say the least they almost jumped on Hainekou when they saw her, and it was a mutual feeling since she too jumped at them.

Smiling a bit I left them to catch up and went on my way to the library, I do have some homework there as I need to investigate about some of the different races that will be coming.

Arriving in the library I went straight to looking for the books about those races and also about the ones from those orphans we will be looking after.

 _ **Elemental: it is a mysterious race that many believe is just a manifestation of nature that managed to develop a soul. These creatures are well known for being extremely resilient to physical attacks but are much more fragile against magic or energy based attacks, especially when it is of a contrary element.**_

 _ **Werewolf Goat-type: one of the tribes amongst the werewolves it is well known for its physical capacity and for being relatively docile making them highly desirable for a peerage (attention: there are exceptions to the rule);**_

 _ **Doppelganger: a species capable of changing the physical attributes of the body, but are normally much weaker physically than other members of the copied species;**_

 _ **Mimic Slime: a beast known for its capacity to change forms to any other individual that it has eaten. But an important point is that it will have a base form from birth that can come from the accumulated DNA the parents had absorbed, this base form is what they usually look like unless it actively tries to change it;**_

 _ **Predator Slime: an extremely aggressive type of slime, it is known for devouring its victims whole and enjoying their suffering while melting. It also produces extremely corrosive acid and potent poison so be cautious around one. However it is known for being aggressive in all aspects including finding partners as when they decide in one they will eliminate anything that tries to hurt its partner.**_

 _ **Fanalis: a race of werewolves that are known for their immense physical strength and power, they are extremely arrogant and will not ally or work with anyone they deem inferior even if under risk of death. They also are known for their love to combat making them desirable as watch dogs and gladiators.**_

 _ **Dark Elves: one of the subspecies of the elf race, they are well known for their high connection to nature, but they are not as pure hearted as the other subspecies. They are more than willing to kill Invaders and also enjoy physical relationships unlike the others that usually see sex as nothing more than the act of reproduction. They are capable druids and have high affinity for beast taming and dark magic, but their archery is not nearly as impeccable as the others.**_

 _ **Driads: they were the result of high-elves having relationships with Elementals. They were once seen as an inferior subspecies of the elves, but they hate this comparison due to seeing themselves as something apart. They look just like elves but their feet are usually tree roots, they have the highest affinity for druidic magic and their archery is top-notch. Due to their high connection to plants in general they usually don't leave the Forrest for long and their health is connected to the forest they were born in.**_

 _ **Giants: a race of proud warriors, they have a high connection to the earth beneath their feet due to their inherent magic ability calledCREATION, a skill for manipulating the ground to create any form they desire. They are usually led by a warrior chief and they are tightly connected to the dwarfs as both usually habits the same space and thus lives in constant competition for resources.**_

Wow, that was a lot to take in. At least now I know what to say or not to the guests from the other races, and to leave them as far away from the other devils that will be coming as possible.

KNOCK KNOCK*

"Young Master, it is time for you to get ready. The guests will arrive soon and you need to have lunch and put on your clothes." A maid said coming from the door.

I nodded and left the library.

The path to my room was quite boring so I turned to said maid who was accompanying me and asked.

"How are those kids doing?"

"They are doing well enough young master. After having eaten, some of them went to sleep, but the Fanalis deci-"

"Lo'lo. He is not 'the Fanalis', he has a proper name and it is Lo'lo." I rebuked her, making her stumble a bit. I don't know if she didn't know his name or what but in the end he is someone and thus should be treated with the proper respect.

"As I was saying, Mister Lo'lo requested to find him somewhere to train. We didn't know if we could allow for him to go train and where to take him since the only training facilities here are destined for specific peerage members or for your family. In the end he simply started training in the room itself." the maid said.

"Go find him and take him to my family's personal training space. He is under our responsibility and we will provide him with what it may be necessary." I immediately said.

She nodded and left to inform him while I went to go have lunch and prepare for the party tonight.

During lunch I had a happy talk with Peko-Chan (and by talk I mean me teasing her out of her stoic fake persona) and after that I went to my room to take a bath and change clothes. We might say that the party will be during the night, but guests start arriving earlier due to them needing to get here without teleportation (we managed to create a magic barrier against teleportation years ago as we could not take the risk of enemy invasions appearing in our doorstep).

My clothes were quite stylish, not too fancy but still giving the vibe of a modern noble, they even gave a slight feel of one of those Greek nobility due to the toga-like upper part. This is one of the advantages of having a stylist as a mother, I always have cool clothes.

Leaving the room I saw the same maid as before passing by. I turned to her and asked.

"Did you do as I instructed?"

"Yes, but a strange thing is that he seems to have heard you talking to me beforehand and was already ready to go to the training room when I got there." The maid said.

This is surprising, I thought Fanalis were only good physically so knowing that his hearing was this sharp is interesting.

"Also, the first few guests have just arrived. Your presence is required." the maid said.

"Okay, I will go there now." I said. While we were on our way there I asked. "And who are the ones here now?"

"That would be the Representatives of the Dark Elves, Buku Bello Fiore and his wife with their young twins, both are only 3 years old so don't expect too much from them." The maid explained and I nodded.

Now this is the first actual meeting between me and any dignitary from other groups.

I hope I don't screw up too much.

Beta: Fanfiction0000


	5. Chapter 5

Entering the room where the dignitaries were I was almost thrown to the ground.

Reason?

"Get up Mare, you are embarrassing us." A young girl's voice said to the one who threw me on the ground. Strangely enough, the one saying that was dressed as a male.

"But you were the one who threw me off as you were playing with your whip." a complain came as the answer for that as a 'girl?' got up from my chest.

"No excuses!" the other one said before using a whip to tie the other down and pull. The problem is that it also took me with it as the 'girl?' that fell on me was too close.

BANG

I ended up thrown across the room by the girl wearing male clothes. She tried to do something about it but multiple roots came from the ground locking the three of us in place.

"That is enough." a deep male voice said as the probable father of these two intervened. "We are here to have a civilized talk and to meet with the son of Alexius, not to play or to throw his child around."

The two looked to the ground ashamed as they said.

""Sorry father.""

"Good, now that you both stopped all this excessive excitement you should properly introduce yourselves to him." The tall men said with a firm tone of voice.

The two nodded before turning to me.

"My name is Aura Bella Fiore, the daughter of the clan head of tribe Fiore from the proud dark elves." the one dressed as a male said. "It is nice to meet you."

"A-a-and I am Mare Bella Fiore, the son of the clan head of tribe Fiore from the p-pr-proud dark elves." the one dressed as a female said. "It is nice to meet you."

Well, I can honestly say that I am surprised. Mare looks great as a girl and Aura looks great as a boy. Is this what the book meant by ' _good at traps_ '?

"And it is nice to meet you two as well, I am Joseph Barbatus the heir to the house Barbatus. And I got to say, the eyes of the two of you are beautiful." I could not help but say this as their eyes are just that beautiful, booth has heterochromatic eyes with one being as green as a lush Forrest while the other is as blue as the clear sky.

They both seem a bit embarrassed by my words, but their parents just started to laugh happily.

"Hahaha, it is the truth, isn't it? My babies have beautiful eyes, even if their choice of clothing is not one I approve. Oh well, I am sure that with time we can change this costume of them." their father said with a snort. "Not only that, but these eyes are the proof of these two's potential as all the strongest heroes of our tribe had these same set of eyes." the feeling of pride oozing out of him is quite gigantic.

After that I talked with the three of them for quite a while, I even invited the twins to come here to play whenever they feel like it by giving them a token that allowed for a total of three people to teleport directly to here (this way they could come whenever they feel like it and bring a bodyguard as these two can't protect themselves yet).

They thanked me and we started to play a game of cards, that was won by Buku-sama even when I tried my hardest and the twins worked together. I am pretty sure that he cheated, but if you can't be caught someone doing it then it doesn't matter (that is what Demiurge-sensei taught me).

"Young Lord, other guests have arrived and want to see you." a maid said, making me sigh a bit. This was fun, but I fear who will it be this time around.

"Are you going already?" Aura said dejectedly.

"P-pl- please stay a while longer?" Mare said with teary eyes.

I could understand that these two probably don't have many people to play with, elves are notorious for their low birthrates and they are also the children from the chief, it is quite likely that they don't have anyone their age or close to it to be with.

"Sorry, but I will see you two again soon anyway and you can now come here anytime." I told them, making then calm down enough to let me go. I gave my farewells to Buku-sama too before leaving the room.

Then it was meeting with other races that came here. The dryads were interesting to talk to as I could ask many questions about unique plants and how to grow them, which the dryads were more than happy to share the information as it might help in the repopulation of some species that are close to extinction. The Barbatus territory is full of empty spaces in the center that could be used for that quite easily.

The Giants were also pretty interesting. They used a medicine to get smaller and they were a very direct race. The two leaders that came are called Brogy and Dorry and the two competed for everything possible. The only young one there could only shake her head as she saw these two competing. Yu Mountain was her name and she is about 11 years old, but considering how slow the Giants age after they reach their teenage years I think she will look around 18 by the time I am this age too.

Neat.

And now I am going to go see those kids as I am curious about how they are doing. Maybe I should lead them to the inner gardens, as they will be far from the party and will have some fresh air. In the end I don't think showing them to the other devil's coming is a bad idea because they all are full of potential and many would be interested in taking them to their peerages, not that I can say that I did not think of adding them, but I will only add those who honestly want to be part of it and will not try to enforce it on anyone else.

Reaching the place they were I was greeted by an interesting scene. Caesar was being stepped on by Gama, Haineko, and Epsilon while he kept apologizing, but the eyes of the three females were most certainly not forgiving.

I turned to Zeta and asked.

"Lil Sis, what is going on?"

She looks a bit confused by my words, yet answered anyway.

"We were going to change clothes for the new ones we just received and Caesar tried to spy on us."

I nodded, and when I thought of what he was just about to do I decided to help.

"Girls," I said to the two girls currently beating Caesar. "after you are done I want to show you all a place."

They nodded as I started to pet Zeta in the head. Her two antennas were weird on the touch but her cuteness was such that I didn't care at all about these little details.

"H-Help me!" Caesar said, but I choose to ignore him altogether. This is what you get for being a young pervert even though you are only 5 too.

If he is this unreliable and full of perverted thoughts now I don't even want to imagine the future.

After that healthy workout for Gamma, Haineko, and Epsilon I took the six of them to the inner gardens. As we all walked together I noticed something that I must admit, Caesar's body is an unfair advantage in and of itself. He was beaten up for over 10 minutes by three girls and he doesn't really seem to be feeling it anymore.

Entering the inner garden I saw the trees full of flowers and fruits, neatly trimmed grass and lots of shade for those who prefer not to be burned by the Underworld equivalent to the sun.

"Enjoy." I said, but all six of them looked confused about it all. They did not move or anything so I said. "Please be free to enjoy yourselves here as you see fit."

"...what is the catch?" Gamma asked full of distrust.

"There isn't a catch or anything. It is just that we will be having many guests here soon and we could either leave you guys alone in the room or take you all to take some fresher air. And before you even think about it, we are sort of hiding you but this is because we know that many of the devil's that will arrive would try to forcefully take you guys away as you all have amazing potential for the future, and we may be capable of stoping many however there are a few houses we cannot stop and that could pass past us."

I explained to them.

They all continue on their general distrust, but at least now they are not that against what I am saying.

I decided to spend some time with them now, even though of bringing Aura and Mare so as to distract them and let them have some fun. Spending time with these 6 I started to like their individuality.

Unfortunately, the time for the party arrived and I had to go there. Saying my goodbyes to them I started walking to the main hall, the sound of elegant music invaded my ears the closer I got from there.

"This way please." Sebas said after appearing out of nowhere. Normally people would be surprised by his sudden appearance, but I was already used to it as I know he is the strongest martial artist in all of the underworld and as such is capable of doing many amazing things.

As I followed him I was lead to another room. There my father and mother were waiting, we talked for a while and then proceeded to the main hall together.

I was introduced to the devil society, and I must admit that I was not impressed. Most of them were pompous asses that were only interested in themselves, waiting games, and probably never had to put in effort in anything. The few decent ones were the Syrzechs and Ajuka, the two Satans that came here as it is a costume for there being at least one in these sort of parties. Syrzechs came to look out for his sister, who was my age, while Ajuka came to try and talk with members of the other species while also to see if it was possible to remove the evil pieces from those kids and, if not, see what shall be done.

But right now this is not important because I am dealing with one of the most annoying things out there, namely a flaming chicken that believes itself amazing.

"Is this sort of thing you serve your guests? Bring me wine, not some grape juice, you inferior reincarnated trash." Riser said to the one serving him, which just so happens to be Chisa. "Go and bring something worthy of me and my wife!" he said with Rias close by looking at him with disgust.

I approached him while he kept being an ass to someone who could kill him with her pinky finger. I gave a fake cough to bring his attention to me, and when he glared at me I said.

"I am sorry to inform you that what you are demanding is beyond us right now."

"Is this house too poor to even be capable of affording wine for their guests? Well, I did hear that amongst the high nobility the Barbatus house was among the poorest." He said, earning a glare from me and Chisa.

It is true that my family isn't particularly rich when compared to the other houses, but that is because our spendure in the military area is the highest among the noble houses by far. We are basically the front lines and we are the ones that stop any other race from invading so our spendure is an obvious necessity. But to hear others mocking us because of it isn't exactly something we accept laying down.

"I am sorry sir, but you seem to be confused about something. It is not that we don't have wine of the highest quality, it is just that we left the water for the animals on the stables and as a flaming chicken you probably need lots of water." I said with an apologetic face, but when they heard that Rias and Chisa looked just about to roll over laughing while Riser looked offended.

" I am not a chicken! My name is Riser Phoenix, third in the succession line for the Phoenix clan, a Marquis level nobility. I am different from some low born no name like you." He looks triumphant, but I just smiled at him mockingly and said.

"Wow, a third son AND of a Marquis level nobility. What should I do? I am just the FIRST son of the house Barbatus, a house of the DUKE level. I feel so inferio... wait, that is right I AM superior to you in nobility ranks. The one who should look at what he says is you, not me." That end I put so much disdain that he finally seemed to realize that I did not put him on my eyes at all.

In the end, you could say that our houses are the polar opposites, my is relatively poor but of high rank, while his is extremely rich but of low rank. I guess that is why the house Phoenix wanted the marriage between Riser and Rias and that they accepted Ravel going to Issei as he was likely to reach a high nobility rank through what he was doing. Well, not that it is my problem anyway... let's ignore the fact that my father and lord Phoenix talking right now and seems quite serious.

Riser looks just about to blow up, but he managed to calm down and say.

"At least I already have my peerage." Wow, he is over 7 years old, someone should give him a cookie for all this hard work. "And all of the members are super hotties that are part of my haren." Yeah, keep showing off like this beside your fiancee, I am sure she llooovveeesss it. But funnily enough, after hearing it she started looking at me expectantly. She probably wants to see how I will one-up him this time.

Well, I think I might as well oblige.

"Wow, you truly is amazing." he puffs out his chest when he heard that. "I heard those who only think with their head bellow are the ones who do that sort of thing, but if you haven't even reached puberty and you already act like this then you should have an impressive one down there to be capable of thinking what your head above clearly isn't capable of doing. Wait, is your fabled control over wind because this is all that there is in your head? Sorry, I really am. I should have realized that I was talking to a brain deficient, in the absence meaning." I said, making he want to strangle me, but before he had the chance an imposing voice said from the back.

"That would be enough you two." It was an imposing blond man with blue eyes that said that. He was Riser's older brother Ruval Phoenix, current number 7 in the rating game ranking. He looks at the two of us and sighed a bit. "You two have only just met and are already in each other's throats, you both should calm down and take a step back."

" But big brother, he said that-"

"I know what he said, and I also know what you said first. While he could have handled it better it is the truth that you was the one who provoked a kid almost half your age to this argument, and lost as well. Now go to father, he will be taking you home to learn some manners fitting for a son of house Phoenix." Ruval said cutting in.

Riser looks dejected, but nodded in the end anyway and left to go see his father, but he did look at me with a glare before leaving.

Rias looked at it all with sparkling eyes, and as soon as Ruval left she came and hugged me.

" Thanks for that. I really don't like being close to him but he just wouldn't leave me alone." Her eyes than showed some curiosity. "But what was that about the head bellow? Does man have two heads?" She asks innocently, but many people across the room looked here funnily while some spit their drinks when they heard.

"L-Let's not think about that. Instead, why don't we go walk for a bit? Maybe I could show you the mansion if you want to of course. I don't want to impose on you or anything." I said, knowing perfectly well that she was the more independent type and would not like to be forced to do anything.

She looks surprised, but smiles and nods happily.

"I would love that, but can we bring my cousin too? He has been down recently and this might cheer him up."

"Sure, I would like to meet him too." I said, and let's be honest here and admit that Sairaorg is a favorite of most that ever saw the show, I included, so a chance of meeting him is more than welcome.

Rias then led me to him, and I must admit he was a sore sight. He looks like he was defeated by the world itself and has no trace of happiness or innocence that a child usually has, it is likely that he has just lost his position as the heir to house Baal and his mother has fallen sick. That he is even here is surprising if that is true.

"Cousin, I brought you a new friend." Rias said happily while dragging me to him.

He looks a bit lost for a second, but he then registered what Rias said and smiled at her.

"Rias, you should not worry about me. Go and have some fun." His eyes are very fond as he looks at her. I recognize these eyes, they are most likely the same ones I use when I look at Zeta, the eyes of an older brother carrying for his little sister.

She looks a bit disappointed, but nods and was just about to leave when I pulled her back.

I look at him, this is not the Sairaorg I knew. The one I know is stronger and more dedicated than anyone else, but right now he is the perfect antithesis to him.

"Get up." I told him with a strong tone and he looks at me surprised, but listen to it anyway. After he stood up from that place I said. "Now we will go to the bathroom, you will throw some water at your face and get out of this mood."

"You don't k what this is about, how could I just 'get out of this mood'?"

"But I did hear from you, the young Bael who wasn't born with the power of destruction and close to no devil magic potential. But why do you let this insignificant thing define you? Do you want to show you are a true Bael? Then use your fists to destroy everything in your way. In the end, it doesn't matter if you have a special power or not, all that matters is that you never stop improving, you only need strength and you can get all you want."

He looks dumbfounded, then annoyed, followed by anger, and finished in surprised. It seems like he has finally stopped with that mindset he was going through and now exuded a confidence and determination like none other.

He nodded to me and then said to Rias.

"Sorry Rias, but I just realized that I have something to do right now.

"To train and get strong enough to be the number ONE!" he then left the hall in high spirits, a clear contrast to before.

Rias looks confused, but simply accepted what happened and decided that she should just go and see the mansion already.

And this was the first of many meetings I have with Sairaorg, Rias, and Raiser. Overall, not that bad of a first meeting.


	6. Chapter 6

2 weeks later

It has been two weeks since the party. In the end father did not complain or reprimand me for how I treated Riser, he just looked at me funnily and said that I should talk more with my sword rather than my mouth.

But I do admit that there have been some big changes from that day on, meaning my start on training.

Father started to teach me about swordplay, and when he couldn't it would be Jeremiah or Munakata that would teach me. It was interesting since I can now learn more about it and even practice with Peko-Chan, in fact I usually started spending at least 5 hours a day on it.

Mother also started to teach me about how to use her house trait-gravity, unfortunately I have an unimpressive talent in the area of raising or decreasing gravity on a set point like most members from mother's clan, but I did have a talent for increasing or decreasing the attraction force to my body. I even started to imagine if I would one day be able to learn how to mimic Pain from Naruto and start spamming SHINRA TENSEI! It would be awesome!

I also started learning about how to control devil magic with Chisa and Demiurge, even though the latter usually teaches me while giving me lessons about other things.

In the end, the only time training stops is around 10 PM, but that is when I practice in my room on the Black Earth and Heaven technique. This ones being really useful since I finally discovered why I did not find any books about magic or other training materials in the library, my parents removed them but by now the books were there again and I could investigate about Touki and uniting this knowledge with the technique I could start the practice step by step. I still can't use it in live combat, but I am advancing.

And it isn't just me that is changing. The kids started to get comfortable here and are finally a bit more open and all went for different people to take care of them.

Hainekou is under Chisa, the two get along really well and I even practice with her once in a while as she started using her sacred gear, even though she still doesn't know how to use a sword handle to do anything.

Caesar started to follow Demiurge, but Demiurge told me that the boy is hopeless in many aspects and needs to be smacked around every once in a while.

Zeta, Gamma, and Epsilon were put under Sebas' supervision. He is very strict, but he said he would make sure to make them excellent maids and to give the best education possible. He even gave the three more normal names instead of those that their old master gave them. Zeta now was called Entoma Zeta, Gamma was now called Narberal Gama, and Epsilon was now called Solution Epsilon. The three were quite happy and seem to be enjoying it all.

Lo'lo decided to not follow any of them, as he stays in the training room or follows me around, but he does ask for lessons on how to fight from Sebas and Jeremiah whenever he can as he knows the two are more than strong enough to help him in getting stronger.

As for Phillufy, well...

"Jo-kun, I want food."

"Sigh, I already said this before but you only need to talk with any of the maids, Phillufy.

"Humph." She turns her head pouting her mouth.

"Fine, I will go see what I can do, Phi-chan." I said, and she smiled.

Yep, she has been a spoiled brat towards me and follows me around a lot. Which also results in her butting heads with Peko a lot.

And of course Rias comes here every once in a while, sometimes she also brings Sona who was super flustered when she came here, she challenged me to a match of chess and lost. It was actually quite fun, she defeated me the first few matches but after a while I started winning every time, it was just the time it took me to learn it (don't judge me, I never had the chance to learn in my other life... I guess). Sona then proclaimed me her rival and said she would challenge me again in one week.

Aura and Mare also came here twice in these two weeks. They came to play, but I did manage to learn a bit about traps with them. The two also ended up as friends with Lo'lo and Hainekou and played a bit with Peko, Narberal, and Entoma (Solution preferred to learn under Sebas or go look for food, which thankfully could be just some normal animals from around here).

I also met the kid from that noble who tortured the kids, and I must admit I was expecting something a bit different than a white haired boy around 9 or 10 playing a video game of war laughing his ass off when he saw me.

"Thanks for killing my old man dude, it saved me the effort." He said smiling, which confused me a good deal. Seeing my face he tilted his head not comprehending why I was confused but he then seemed to have understood before saying. "Sorry, I don't think you understand my family yet. In my family there is no direct heir, it is a free for all killing dispute to see who is the most capable and the one to survive his siblings is the one to receive the title of Lord. My father was one of the ones to loose before, but as I was still alive I was eligible for next head. The current head would never let that so he probably would have killed me if you hadn't killed him first. So, again, thanks for killing him for me first."

"Why do you keep saying 'first'?" I asked.

"Well, I did plant a few dozen kilos of C4 in the house and would blow it up when I was old enough to receive the title or when he really went for the kill, so you saved me the effort. Ah, I almost forgot the proper introductions. My name is Casper, Casper Hekmatyar it is nice meeting you."

And that was my first actual meeting with Casper, the man that would be the number one weapons dealer in the entire world.

"Joseph, come here for a bit." My father called as I was passing close to his study while reading a book about Norse magic, I want to take the fullest advantage possible of the techniques I received from the system that is probably trying to kill me, so learning as much as possible and multitasking is a must.

When I heard my father's voice I turned around and went to see him.

Entering the study I saw that father was sitting down with a serious face, clearly this would be an important talk.

"Sit." He said, and I did as told. He looks serious, and considering how he usually is much more relaxed when talking to me it cannot be a good sign. "First, I am proud of your advancements in power. I see that you are taking training very seriously and am proud of you." He said with a slight smile and I admit to feel elated to hear that. "Second, we already contacted Phillufy's parents. Tiamat said she isn't in the mood to take care of a child right now and Midgardsormr said that he will leave her to us as he isn't father material. And so, Phillufy will be staying with us for a while more, at least until Tiamat feels like being a parent. So please take care of her." father said, and I could only sigh.

I wanted to be wrong about this, but it was actually quite normal for these two to act like this so it wasn't that surprising. Dragons were never a specie that was good at being parents so this was actually more normal than it should be. "And last, but not least, we have prepared a fiancée for you. Ravel Phoenix, the youngest daughter of the Phoenix clan."

"WHAT?! But how? Why? When did you decide that?" I blurted out, and I must admit that I was most certainly not expecting this. While marriage between noble families is quite normal amongst the devil kind it is not normal for deciding these sort of things so fast and when the child is still so young. Rias case was, according to what I heard, a case of two friends being too drunk and started to talk nonsense that others actually believed. But, father wasn't the type to talk nonsense while drunk, he was the type that just drank as if he wasn't feeling anything and then passing out cold the next second.

So how and WHY did it turn out this way?

"Calm down son, this is something me and your mother have been thinking for a long time and it would be great for our house if this went along." He said. "Before you start thinking too much try to point out to me the good and bad aspects that this union would entail."

Taking a deep breath I started to think about it more carefully.

"Well, first for the good aspect it would have to be the financial support. Our house is in a bad financial spot so a union with the house Phoenix would be a good idea, especially if the dowry is good enough to help us better equip our military and production departments."

"Correct, you got this one right. In the end we don't have a true specialty or product to sell so our finances are rarely ever out of the red, so this marriage would certainly help us alleviate our difficulties or else there might start to be beggars appearing in our streets." He said. "Can you point out another good aspect?"

"Perhaps a more powerful position on the devil council?" I answered/asked.

"Very good. Correct, this will cement an alliance with the house of Phoenix, and by extension the house of Gremory and the new Maou's faction. We were on the fence for far too long when it came down to who to support, but the old Maou's faction is losing bad when it comes to influence and its focus on instigating a new war would put us in a bad position so aligning with the new Maou faction is for the best. And this marriage will help cement that."

Sigh, I want to say something negative about it but the plusses are getting too big.

"Besides," father said, trying and managing to cut out all my escape routes. "This is a talk for when the two of you are older. I just wanted to let you know, and to tell you that you will have to appear on her 5 year old birthday next year to meet her. Try to improve as much as possible until then to try and impress her and her family, and do try not to enter a fight with Riser again. However, if you do please remember to clean the floor with his face." Father said with a smile, and I admit to imagine using him as a broom. What a fun thought.

"I understand father, but I must ask one thing. Will it be necessary for her to be my ONLY wife or will I be free to marry again?" I had to ask that since it wasn't strange for some marriage contracts being more stringent and prohibiting the ones getting married to not being authorized to be with someone else, heck there is one that explicitly says that if the husband looks at another woman beside his wife as sexual beings the wife has the right of removing his balls... poor Sirzechs.

"They WANTED to add that, but honestly I said no and they couldn't really fight against my words. After all, if it was impossible. While marrying with Ravel could work we could also go just as well with the Sitri or Agares as both houses on the New Satan faction and also have young girls your age in them. In other words, they were on the disadvantage from the start when it came to the negotiations." Father said, and I must admit that I released a sigh of relief after hearing this. I might still be only 5, but I honestly doubt I will only look at one woman for the rest of my life and I don't want to loose my balls because of my probable future horniness.

After that father took me to practice with the sword, he was teaching me the classic style of house Barbatus which was a mix of many swordplay styles from humanity as we do asked for many of those in the past to improve our sword style.

"No, no, no. You should raise your arm a bit more and put it like this. This way you can block or cut from any direction while putting your back into it." He said correcting me. The practice with him has been going on for over two hours now, Phillufy was sleeping on the side while Peko was watching it with full intensely. I wonder if she would attack father if she thought he was about to wound me. Probably yes, I still haven't managed to get this self-sacrificing spirit out of her.

"Joseph, we came to play!" Aura said as she pushed the door open, she was already feeling fully at home by now. Mare was 'hiding' on her back, but considering how he was just as big as Mare it was not working at all.

Weirdly enough, Rias also arrived at that instant and she and Mare started a stare off when they saw each other. These two do NOT see eye to eye, no matter what I do they always hit heads with one another.

Father smiled when he saw this happening he liked how hard working I was but he also wanted me to go out more often and to have more friends, so he decided to finish training for now and to leave me to play. Even if this 'play' was mostly making sure Aura and Rias did not fight one another.

Overall, it was a good day.

* * *

 **Joseph's peerage:**

 **Queen - ?**

 **Rook 1 - Lo'lo**

 **Rook 2 - ?**

 **Bishop 1 - (Decided)**

 **Bishop 2 - ?**

 **Knight 1 - Peko Pekoyama**

 **Knight 2 - ?**

 **Pawn 1 - Haineko**

 **Pawn 2 - Solution Epsilon**

 **Pawn 3 - Narberal Gamma**

 **Pawn 4 - Entoma Zeta**

 **Pawn 5 - Caesar Clown**

 **Pawn 6 - (decided)**

 **Pawn 7 - ?**

 **Pawn 8 - ?**

 **I also have two more additions, but I am not absolutelly sure of their future positions so there still are four empty slots.**

 **Also, here is a list of from where I took those OCs:**

 **Haineko - Bleach (sword spirit from Hangiku);**

 **Peko Pekoyama, Munakata, Chisa - Danganrompa Series;**

 **Phillufy - Saijaku no Bahamut;**

 **Caesar Clown, Mansherry - One Piece;**

 **Entoma, Solution, Narberal, Demiurge, Sebas - Overlord;**

 **Lo'lo - Magi**

 **Quite the variety, but be free to send me ideas of peerage members. I like any idea and would like to see if I can add it or not.**

Beta: Fanfiction0000


	7. chapter 7

One year later

It has been a full year since my party to introduce myself to society, and from the time when I started my training and meet so many people that now are important to me.

The seven kids we are housing already are fully accepting of us, heck we talk all the time and they are always showing sincere smiles on their faces. But one thing I noticed is that the girls are much better at poker than the boys, except for Kasper as he is one scary guy.

Talking about him, he has received his evil pieces. It was delayed before due to his 'father' interference, but now he has one and already started collecting his peerage. Strangely enough, he only desires well-trained mercenaries as he started working in the field of his company, HCLI an enterprise known for selling weapons around the globe. He uses his peerage as bodyguards while he goes around to sell his weapons.

He comes back every once in a while and is quite friendly, even managing to get a civilized conversation with the kids and became close friends with Caesar, but he still scares me a bit. I still consider him a friend, but when he looks seriously at me I fear for my life. There is just something on his eyes that scare the shit out of me, and he is just a kid!

Another interesting thing is that I have become friends with Rias and Sona. The two started coming here at least twice a week and we play a lot together, I even introduced them to anime and online games. Rias fell madly in love with anime and Sona also fell in love, but with online gaming. More specifically she loves MMORPG, and I even had to go save her when she had the 'brilliant' idea of going to meet her online friends in real life. And one of them was called PedoLove01.

Sigh, for such an intelligent girl she can be SO stupid. Sigh.

Anyway, another interesting thing is that I visited the dark elf village with Aura and Mare. It was quite interesting, all the houses are inside gigantic trees or hanging on the branches. The whole place gave a clear feel of nature and everything was surrounded by plants. I entered their library and read a few books there about the flora of the underworld, but I spent most of the day with the twins as they ran around the forest with the tamed animals the village had. We even competed in who will run faster as we mounted on the backs of some of the beasts. I choose a dog-like beast that had golden engraving all over its back, and I admit having lost badly, and I mean VERY badly.

But now is not the time to remember the better times, I must go as I have a party to participate tonight, my fiancee's.

*SHUDDERS*

I still am not used to the image of getting married to someone I haven't even met yet. Well, at least I still have my sword with me right now and this already gives me quite the confidence.

The party was, for the lack of better words, gaudy. The whole place was so exuberant that I wonder if this house had nothing better to do with their money than to buy statues of each member of the household in pure gold, and each statue was over three meters tall at the very least. And this was just the decorations!

The food was extravagant, the servants were wearing clothes with golden threads and there was not a single place where there wasn't some form of jewel-encrusted, heck I think that it would be possible to make a light show here just by lightning a flashlight.

Personally, I think it is WAY too much, but it is their money so they might as well spend it as they see fit.

Besides, the Phoenix house territory doesn't have many beggars and the orphans are well taken care of as well. They might be extravagant people, but they are capable and good lords of their territory nonetheless.

"He, I must say that these people have way too much money. Do you think they would be interested in some of the armaments I am selling?" Casper asked as he was beside me. In the end, I could only bring him, my 'bodyguard' and that glutton of a girl that was eating as if there was no tomorrow to the party. Some of the others wanted to come too, but as they had no relation to nobility they choose not to come.

"Jo-kun, try this one." said glutton, also known as Phillufy, said as she put a candy that she had gotten on my mouth. "Is it good?"

"*munch* *munch* *gulp* Yeah, it is quite good. Thanks, Phi-chan." I said as she gave a slight smile.

After this whole year, Phillufy got much more attached to me, but I suppose it is understandable considering how I treated her. She was the second most pampered girl from me, right after Entoma since I see her as a little sister.

"Yong Lord, here is a napkin." Peko said from the side offering me a napkin to clean my mouth.

I accepted it, but right after cleaning my mouth I did the exact same thing Phillufy did to me with Peko.

"Eat." I said as an order, there weren't many other ways to make her listen if it wasn't like this. After she swallowed the candy I smiled and said. "See, it wasn't so difficult. Now please enjoy the party a bit, you should act a bit like Phillufy that is trying to devour the whole Phoenix fortune one snack at a time, or Caster that is... yeah, not like him. I would rather not have you trying to sell semi-automatic demonic machine guns to the lords around him." I said with a sweat drop. He really must enjoy his job of spreading weapons across the world.

"... understood." Peko said, clearly she was forcing it but it was the best I would get.

Suddenly a pair of hands covered my eyes.

"Guess who?" the clearly feminine voice said.

"Humm, considering how smooth the hand is and the wonderful smell of strawberry on the air I can only think of one person. My dear friend Rias!" I said playfully as I turned around to see her in all her childish glory.

She was using an elegant red dress that showed a perfect mix of elegance and youthfulness. I must admit I am proud of this work of mine, fashion designing with mother really allowed me to learn how to make this sort of clothes, a great and practical present so as not to worry about what to give to any of the girls around me.

"*Humph* You are no fun, why did you have to get it right? It is funnier when you don't know it!" Rias said pouting, which I said a truthful answer.

"If you wanted me to miss you shouldn't have made yourself this memorable." and there is the blush that rivaled the color of her hair.

Yet the blush disappeared instantly when a new voice made itself present.

"Dearest Rias, my love it has been far too long!" the obnoxious voice of Riser said from across the room.

"...not long enough." Rias said under her breath. Displeasure all over her face.

She had a passionate hate for very few people, but Riser was definitely the top of the list.

As Riser approached me and the others we looked at him. He now was a bit taller than the last time we saw each other, but he continued with that permanent smirk of superiority while wearing a red suit lined with gold and rubies.

I honestly don't think anyone should ever wear this thing as it looks awful, but then again the person wearing it matches.

"Thank you for coming to see me, is this proof of your love to me?" Riser asked, and I must say that his ego seems to have increased somehow.

"No, just no. I will NEVER like you Riser, how many times I have to tell you that?" Rias said to him. She hated just about everything about the guy, especially how he kept saying he loves her but never bothered to be with her. He even flatters himself all the time and keeps showing off his harem/peerage to everyone including Rias.

Riser was about to continue when he caught sight of me.

"And who invited you to my glorious house?" Riser said obnoxiously, or as many could tell just like he usually talks.

"Your parents, it was because I came here to meet my bride." I said, making him gnash his teeth in rage. It seems like he disagrees with the proposal, not that I care about him or his opinion anyway. "Now how about you prove yourself useful for once and show me the way to meet her. Oh, and if possible go somewhere far away from Rias since she is just not that into you." again, my relationship with Riser is not ideal.

Riser was fuming with rage, but he decided to take me there to meet his sister.

I said my goodbyes to Rias and asked Peko to watch Phillufy closely to make sure no accidents happen.

Approaching the Phoenix family I saw that father was also there, just as the Sitri, Agares, and Gremory heads, and they all are talking happily together. When looking around I also noticed that Sirzechs is talking with some dignitaries from other houses, that Sona is running around the mansion while running away from an excited Serafal with a Mahou Shoujo dress in hand that is Sona-sized, and that there are a small group of kids talking on the side. Well, it is more the girls talking while the boys are being idiots.

Hey, is that Diodora? I should remember to go see him later and see if I can kick his jewels, even if just to possibly make him a eunuch. A good action no doubt.

Lord Phoenix was still talking when he noticed me and Riser approaching.

"Oh, Joseph my boy, it is great to see you again." he said.

"I agree, it has been far too long since last time." I answered him with a respectful bow.

He looked at my reaction and nodded a few times.

"Good, good, you truly is a good boy. Very well mannered, in contrast to your old man here." The Lord Phoenix said.

"Hey." my father said.

"What? Wasn't it you that almost cut our capital in half while training when we were younger?" Lord Phoenix asked.

"Or the one who confused the nuptial Chambers during Ryzevin marriage with a simple room and took one of the maids of honor there to, let's say 'play around'?" Lord Sitri said.

"And let's not forget who was the one who took his familiar, which might I add is a hellhound of over 100 tons and a comparable appetite, to a dinner party of the Glasya-Labolas house and the dog ate almost everything AND pooped in the middle of the lawn." Lord Gremory said.

"So? What do you have to say in your defense?" Lord Phoenix asked, and my father seemed to shrink as he said.

"Just, 'hey'."

""" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA""" The three house heads laughed good-naturedly, and before long my father also started to laugh with them.

These four are friends since childhood so they do have their intern jokes and playing around together is quite normal for them.

"Anyway, it is good to see you again." Lord Phoenix said. "And I have someone that you should meet here. Ravel darling come here for Papa." he said, calling out to one of the girls on the group on the side.

I must admit that she looks adorable.

She is blond with blue eyes like me, but her blond is more light compared to my own and her hair is styled in twin tales, and if you add her chubby face (she is still a kid so it is normal to be a bit chubby) and a cute dress she looks just like an elegant doll.

"Yes, daddy?" She asked/said as she approaches him.

"I want to introduce you to Joseph Barbatus, he is one year older than you and he will be your husband in the future."

"WHAT?!" Riser yelled on the side. "How can this poor bastard marry my sister? When did you decide to do this father? I thought you meant to marry this lowly ignorant to some whore from a branch clan, not my little princess!"

A vein popped on my forehead when I heard him.

"And how exactly am I a bastard?" I asked coldly.

"Humph, you aren't even a true devil elite like me. Don't go talking to your betters in equal terms, dirty blooded bastard." Riser said disdainfully, his father was looking just one step away from pulling him on the side to spank his rich ass for talking too much. Which is understandable considering MY father's hand is getting dangerously close to his sword handle.

"Just to make it clear, but why are you saying this?" I asked evenly.

"I heard it, how your mother is just some half-blood that your father took a fancy to. Just a simple dirty slu-"

SLICE

I drew my sword and cut him in half from top to bottom for his words.

"One more word and I WILL kill you. No one talks shit about mother and gets out scot-free." I said while he regenerated.

"And how exactly do you intend to even hurt me? I am a glorious Phoenix, an immortal that simply cannot possibly lose!"

"And I will still cut you down, and if one time isn't enough I will just have to keep doing there isn't enough to reform." I said taking a stance while he created a fireball.

" **ENOUGH**!" Sirzechs voice reverberated across the room. His power suffocating and all I could do was maintain my stance. "If you two want to settle this so much I will prepare a fitting place for it." He said seriously while I kept my glare on Riser.

In the end, Riser and I were taken to a small arena on the side. Apparently, every house has one near the reception hall as it is quite common for devils to quarrel and decide to fight. We are, no matter how civilized we might seem, a race that puts power above everything else.

"Remember that killing your opponent is expressly forbidden." the referee said, looking at the two of us sternly when the two of us nodded he said. "Start."

When the signal was given I dashed at Riser at high speeds by using the _walking techniques_ that are included on the Blac Heaven and Earth technique, in this case, I used _Jin_ as it helps me reach my opponent instantly, but the blast of air on my heels as I use it is still surprising.

He was surprised with my burst of speed and tried to attack me with a torrent of flames, but I followed the _Jin_ with _Hweh,_ thus avoiding the attack entirely and reappearing on Riser's back.

SLASH

I cut down his head, but he just kept moving and released a wave of fire in all directions.

I responded by using _Tweh,_ which works in a similar way to _Jin_ but instead of advancing I retreat when using it.

I then created multiple magic circles, most being Norse in origin since I doubt that demonic magic would be that effective.

Multiple jets of water were launched at him, making him hiss in pain for the first time. It may be far from enough to actually kill or even hurt someone from his house, but water still was something that caused him considerable pain and delayed his healing.

While he was trying to defend himself with a wall of wind I took a deep breath to calm myself. In the end, despite how much energy I have this body of mine was still not used to true battles, something I plan to fix in the future.

"Is that all?" He asked after he created a wind barrier around himself, he was trying to aact like what I did was unimportant and even unrelated to him but his disheveled appearance and slightly pale face told a whole other story.

I did not answer, choosing to focus on something more interesting like using _Jin_ to approach him again. He created a circle of flames around himself, probably to make sure I wouldn't attack his back.

Well, true enough I did not attack his back. But I did use my wings to propel myself to just above him and tried to stomp him.

He blocked with his arm, he released flames from it trying to burn my foot and when he saw my footwear burning and my skin too he released a smile of pride on his face for what he did.

Well, that smile vanished quite fast as I released another sub-technique from the Black Heaven and Earth technique.

" _Focus Stomp (Jimwomgak)._ " and with that, my feet crushed his body beneath my feet. " _Shinra Tensei_ " I said as I activated the power I received from the mother's side of the family. A repulsion gravity pushed his barely recovering body away while part of the flames that compose him remained.

I was going to move again, but the referee intervened.

"Match over, the winner is Joseph Barbatus." He said while positioning himself in front of me.

I took a deep breath and slowly released the air. It was a fun match, but honestly fighting Lo'lo is much more interesting than Riser. Riser was way too dependant on regeneration, he literally did not move by himself from start to finish and his powers clearly have not been trained nearly as well as mine, and he already is 10 years old for Satan's sake.

"It was a good match you two." Sirzechs said, and he wanted to continue talking some more but was interrupted when a red blur passed by him.

Rias came running to the arena, Riser's face was extremely happy when he saw this and even opened her mouth to sprout some of his nonsense but was left hanging when Rias passed by him and went right to me.

" Are you okay? Is your foot fine? Please tell me if there is anything hurting." she said, making the adults look at her worry fondly. But this was replaced by shock and speechlessness when they heard her next words. "If you are hurt we can try the healing technique my mother did to father when I asked why they were naked in bed and she was flushed. It will need a bed and I don't know what to do but we can try it anyway!" she said eagerly.

I could only facepalm at this, much like many other. And the ones that understood what she accidentally said and did not facepalm were all glaring at Lord Gremory.

"Don't worry, it is just a little burn. Give me a day and I will heal just fiii..." I was paralyzed by what I saw next.

A green glow appeared on my foot and before long there wasn't even a scar or mark in my foot.

What. The. Hell?


	8. Chapter 8

A few months later

It has been a few months since my first true fight, and the discovery of something I had no idea I had.

A sacred gear. Me, a devil, has a SACRED gear. This is irony at its finest, and even funnier is that this is one I know very well.

 **Twilight Healing** , _the Smile of The Holy Mother_ , a sacred gear that usually always ends up with a pure-hearted maiden as its user. And I have one, and a _sub-species_ no less.

After investigating it with Demiurge's help I realized that my sacred gear is focused almost exclusively on my own body so healing others is not really all that natural and the effects are thrice the effort for a fourth of the result. Despite that it still was an incredible thing as it constantly heals my body, granting me a lower form of the Phenex house regeneration. It isn't as fast as them, nor I would allow for others to cut my head off since my healing and body ain't that good at healing, but the fact that I am constantly healing myself was a giant relief.

Another thing that changed is that Ravel started coming to my house a lot to spend time with me. She is a sweet girl, while she still is a bit arrogant it isn't much and she does try to get along with others.

Other things that changed are that now Peko is even more dedicated to training.

"How can I guard you in the future if I am weaker than you by that much?" is what she said before entering deep training, she rarely stopped and didn't even appeared on the next few days.

Another thing is that Rias started coming here most of the time when she was supposed to be on dates with Riser.

No need to say that he hated my guts more with every passing day.

Anyway, right now I am enjoying my time. How? Well...

"Dodge!"

PUNCH

CRASH

Removing myself from a wall as Sebas looks at me stoically.

"Young Master, you should focus more. I even went as far as to tell you to dodge so why did you not react?" Sebas asked.

"*COUGH* *COUGH, Because you told me this when your punch was centimeters from my face!"

"No excuses!" he said before disappearing in another burst of speed. "Dodge!"

PUNCH

WALL CRUMBLING

And like that he threw me across the wall.

If I had to say one negative aspect of having this continuously healing sacred gear is that the others now only had to worry about not killing me during their lessons. So brutal lessons like this became the norm.

At least this isn't the same level as Demiurge's classes. He keeps launching walls of hellfire at me while explaining about advanced accounting techniques or classes about many foreign cultures while also explaining the different uses of demonic magic and how to apply them to devil's magic.

"Go for it Onii-sama!" Entoma cheered from the side while the others looked at Sebas trashing me with slight interest. To say that the kids now seem completely different from before would be an underestimation.

All seven of them now are much more open with others, they play around and smile from the bottom of their hearts quite a lot. But it is just around those from the house because they feel fear from the others. They also became quite protective of me as they see me as a close friend to all and one of the reasons why they are no longer slaves.

"Can I have a go now?" Lo'lo asked eagerly.

Before anyone answers he jumps in with a flying kick at me, I redirected it to the side as I definitely don't want to block that or any direct attack from him. And to prove my point when his feet touched the ground a crater was made and many rocks were lifted in the air by the sheer strength of this kick.

Amongst us kids he has the highest brute strength no questions asked, even suppressing Phillufy by a small margin and she is a freaking offspring from two dragon kings! I am the third strongest in terms of the physical aspect, but the gap between my powers and theirs are wide, to say the least.

I then started sparing with him for the next hour or so. Sebas was on the side giving tips to the two of us, but neither of us could hear him well as we were too worried in not get trashed by the other.

After this one hour, Sebas decided to finish the training as it was time for an appointment of mine and he had many other things to do.

The appointment in question is to go look at the border of the territory with Munakata and Peko. It is so as to see more of the territory and to truly understand the weight of my responsibility.

The others wanted to come, especially Caesar as he wanted to see if he could find any interesting herbs to create poisons. He really likes to create new chemicals for mass destruction, but we make sure to not let this hobby of his to go too far. He would be a truly terrifying guy, if he wasn't so naturally scummy (seriously I never saw someone so shady from the get-go as him, even when he tries to hide he still is shady).

How I am friends with him is still beyond me.

While walking on the divide I saw that the earth there is full of craters and the forever present smell of blood in the air. Apparently they were the results of the many continuous wars and disputes that the Barbatus legions had against the many other species and groups, it is truly annoying that even while we are constantly invaded by other races and declared war against us it is usually just our house that fights, the others rarely ever enter in conflicts as long as it isn't against the fallen angels.

Bunch of cowards, it is what my father calls most of them. It is a shame that his friends' territories are quite far making support for us hard to arrive in the appropriate time and those lords close by would rather pincer-attack us than to send help.

SIGH, if my marriage really can help alleviate this situation I cannot fight against it.

But this will mean I will be brother-in-law with Riser... FUCK!

A little sacrifice for the well being of those on my territory, but damn if it isn't one I would rather not have to make.

"...aa,..." I heard a slight sound from nearby. It was considerably weak and showed clear signs of pain and exhaustion on the voice.

Peko was about to say something, but I raised my hand to stop her.

"What was that sound?" I whispered, and as soon as I asked this a white shine approached us. Peko instantly positioned herself in front of me so as to protect me.

She intercepted the object using her sword and redirecting it to the side, and said object crashed on the floor, hard.

When the dust settled down it was revealed that the object in question was a small boy. He looked around 6 or 7, he had white hair, blue eyes, was all dirty and showing wounds of clear abuse and was so thin that he must have suffered from malnutrition for some time now, and he had metallic white wings with eight feathers of white light.

Unless I am VERY wrong I would never mistake who this guy is.

 _Vali Lucifer_ , a descendant of the original Lucifer, grandson of Rizevim Livan Lucifer, one of the strongest devils in existence, and the **white dragon emperor**.

He is amongst the strongest characters from CANON DxD and someone I personally admire from the series.

He being here this way probably means he has run from his home not long ago and still hasn't arrived or met Azazel. If I leave him where he is now it is likely that he will go to Azazel, but why should I let this happen? Messing with canon a bit would be good and I see no need to give a current enemy like the fallen angels something as dangerous as a Longinus.

Well, it is what I want but for now I need to talk to him first.

"You are strong." Vali said while looking at Peko. "I will defeat you and get stronger." He said before his sacred gear shined and released the sound **_DIVIDE_** and Peko's energy levels were cut by half.

Strangely enough, his wings already seemed on the limit, is his body this fragile right now?

He tried to jump at Peko again, but with fluid movements, she redirected his punch to the side and plunged her knee at his guts.

After he passed out she was about to fully eliminate him with one swing of her sword, but I held her hand back.

"Wait, he seems interesting." I said, Munakata then asked.

"And what do you intend to do with him, young lord?"

"For now let's take him home. Being here isn't helping." I said, Munakata didn't seem to mind and Peko showed a displeased expression. It isn't surprising as she hates anything that might come to harm me, I suppose this is her self-imposed duty talking, but seeing her pout and look to the side is still quite funny.

Getting home we put Vali on a guests room. I asked for Mansherie to take a look at him and she said that he was suffering from dehydration, malnutrition, extreme tiredness, and many wounds across his entire body that were only one step below those from Haineko.

In other words, not so good.

She healed his wounds and put him on serum so as hydrate him. But for him to look for a challenge even while one step away from death's door like that, he is either an inborn battle junkie or stupid... considering how in the show he wanted to defeat Great Red I would say that both affirmations have their merits.

After we made sure that he would be alright we left him on that room to rest, now I don't know what to do next.

"Joseph-sama, we came to play!" Aura's voice reverberate from the outside of the mansion as a whip locked itself on my neck pulling me to the outside of the mansion.

Well, I suppose this works for ending the boredom as well.

When I was in mid-air I turned around and disengaged my neck from the whip. I then proceeded to adjust myself so as to fall down on my feet, but when I touched the ground I realized my mistake.

That was a trap as well, Mare's staff was glowing as the ground under my feet revealed itself as a pitfall.

CRASH

I fell right where they wanted, but I could only laugh with them. This is the sort of thing these two like to do, trying to surprise and prank others. I play back with them, and trying not to get caught up on their traps is fun in and of itself.

"T-That was funny, right Onee-chan?" Mare asked.

"Yup, it was good." Aura said between laughs.

I jumped out of the hole and continued to play with them.

We pranked others together, the main target being Caesar as his reactions are the funniest. We also liked to prank Solution and especially Narberal since the two would react too much and be scolded by Sebas, it would never be much but it was funny to cause mayhem.

It was a good time.

At night Vali finally has woken up. I knew he has woken up because an explosion happened in the area he was before.

I sighed, it was expected that he would throw a fit when he wakes up but this wouldn't be a problem since I asked someone who was more than capable of holding him down to guard his door.

Getting close to the room I saw Vali's form on the ground as Lo'lo held him down with a feral smile, he probably enjoyed doing something besides training and seeing his abilities in actual use was probably something he enjoyed quite a bit.

"Hey boss, this little prey here tried to run so I held him down." Lo'lo said, he had started calling me boss after he lost to me on a few sparring matches.

"Thanks for the good work Lo'lo, I knew I could count on you." I said giving him a thumbs up. He nodded to it. "Now you can let him go, he is no threat to either of us anyway."

When Lo'lo left Vali go the boy tried to plunge into me, but I gave a punch right to the face and whether or he fell back to the ground I put my sword close to his neck.

"That wasn't nice. I wanted to talk as civilized devils, but if you want to act like a rabid dog I will treat you like the prey you are." I said, my sword close enough to let a small trail of blood to appear. "I don't know who you are, and right now I couldn't care less about it. You were saved by me on a whim and I can take away this gift just as easily. So you can either A - continue acting like a rabid dog and be put down as such, or B - stop trying to attack those stronger than you and actually communicate like a person. It is your choice, but be quick as I am not that patient to someone that tried to kill me not once but twice already."

He stopped struggling after I said that, and after a second I took my sword out of his neck. When he stood back up I said.

"Now that you stopped lashing out at everything do you mind telling us who exactly are you and why the hell did you think it would be a good idea to attack me when I overpower you in almost all aspects right now." It was the cold truth, as strange as it may sound. In the end, he isn't trained in anything as of yet and is weakened considerably due to his physical condition, he probably could be defeated by just about anyone in this mansion right now.

If I couldn't over power him in these conditions it would be weird.

"My name is Vali Lucifer, the white dragon emperor and a descendant of the original Lucifer." He said, he probably expected surprised reactions or something but he did not get that at all. I already knew these things and Lo'lo couldn't care less about who your descent from, for him all that mattered was strength and nobility was as far from his worries as possible.

"Okay, I will have to tell father about this as the implications of your name are quite big, so until I get back you should remain here. Food and anything you may need or want will be provided so don't worry about that, but you must remain on this part of the mansion." I then turned to Lo'lo. "Do you mind watching over him while I go talk to father?"

"Sure, why now? I have nothing better to do anyway. But if he tries to escape what you want me to do?" Lo'lo asked.

"As long as he doesn't die and it is recoverable you can do as you please." I said

Lo'lo's smile was too scary for a 7-years-old kid, but it just seemed to fit with him regardless. He turned to Vali and said.

"Please try to flee, I miss the sound of bones being crushed by my hand."

Years from now Vali would deny with all his strength how he got drenched in sweat at this instant.


	9. Chapter 9

Getting close to father's study I started to think about what to say to him.

I have no idea how he will react to Vali, but all I can do is hope for the best.

*KNOCK KNOCK*

"Come on in." my father said from the other side.

As I opened the door I saw that Munakata was talking to father, probably about the Vali situation.

"Father, I want to talk to you about something." I said.

"Is it about the boy you found on the border? Because if so you can do as you please. A devil with the **Divine Dividing** would be a boon to our forces and the possibility of him being in your peerage is one I can imagine is enticing, but if you do decide to keep him here he will be your responsibility." he said.

I expected as much, father knows that I am close to getting my evil pieces (just two weeks until my 7-years-old birthday and obtaining them) so searching for peerage members should be obvious.

But, I am not that desperate to look for it. Anyway, I already talked with Lo'lo, Caesar, and Peko about being part of my peerage and they agreed so I am in no hurry.

"Father, I understand what you mean by that but there is a slight problem with it."

"And what would that be son?"

"His name is Vali LUCIFER." I dropped the bomb.

Father and Munakata both were paralyzed when they heard that, they definitely did NOT expect this.

"W-Where is he?" father asked.

Sigh, I knew father could react like that. He always respected the original Lucifer to the extreme so hearing of a descendant was great news for him. Well, as long as it isn't Ryzevim as father hated that fucker as much as everyone hated Geoffrey in Game of Thrones (piece of shit).

"He is on the west section of the mansion. Lo'lo is watching over him since he was too, let's say excitable right now."

"What did he do?"

"He tried to attack me, so I held him down at sword point until he calmed down." I said, making father grumble in a mix of exasperation and pride on my actions.

"Son, don't you think you are too quick to react to things with violence?" He asked with Munakata was nodding slightly on the back.

"Not particularly, I just react to threats as I think it is best. I try to cut them down and possibly burn the corpse after." I said with a shrug. "This is what Demiurge-sensei taught me."

"... Maybe leaving your education to him wasn't my brightest idea." father said under his breath.

After that Father went to talk to Vali, and after talking for around one hour he came out of the room and said to leave the kid to rest. He also said that we will take care of him for now on and that he will be under our protection, he will announce it to the world during my birthday celebration as there would be many Nobles there giving him the chance to make a more proper and firm stance against the corruption and extreme violence on our society.

I guess the kids' story plus Vali's were enough to make him want to act more proactively against this problem.

A few days later I was in the middle of a sparring match against Peko. We were exclusively using swords, and while she was a whole year younger than me I admit that I was being pressured by her.

Her defenses were airtight, to the point that I could not pass them no matter how much I tried, and even if I tried to simply overpower her with pure sheer physical strength she would not be daunted by it as she simply redirected the strength and continued her movements. But the worst part was that she would constantly aim for any openings I left and attacked with no hesitation whatsoever.

She knew that any wound that wasn't instantly fatal would be healed anyway so she showed no hesitation on her attacks.

She is one scary girl, I can't even imagine how good with the sword she will be when she grows up. Her father did say she was abnormally talented with it so calling her future self-terrifying would be an understatement.

I heard steps from the side and after a few minutes of silence whoever appeared talked to us.

"...how?"

I used _Tweh_ to get away from Peko, and as she knew that this was our sign for 'time' she did not follow up with her attacks. We both were sweating a lot as I turned to the newcomer.

"'How' what? You got to be more specific about what you want to ask?" I said to Vali, who now looked a LOT better. No sullener eyes or cheeks, he now looked like a normal child albeit a bit too thin.

"How are you two stronger than me?! I am the white dragon emperor with the highest potential, a descendant of the original Lucifer and -"

"Someone with no proper training and overconfident." I completed for him. "Seriously, if you think simply fighting whoever is strong will make you stronger than that person, you must have played too many RPG's or you are just plain dumb. Hard work and proper training on how to use everything you have and get even more is what you should think about if you want to get stronger."

He looks thoughtful on what I said, but he still seems unconvinced so I decided to give him the right incentive.

"Why don't you come here now so we can spar for a bit. It could be interesting and maybe help you see where you can improve." from the story and the few interactions I had with Vali it was clear that he thought first and foremost on strength so this was the best path to make him choose to remain here.

Maybe I can even get him on the peerage, or at least make sure he doesn't start rampaging all over the place looking for new challenges.

Satan knows his rampaging would give me or whoever was responsible for him the worst type of hell there is. Paperwork.

He agreed to the spar quite easily, he probably wants to fight some more now that his conditions are better.

I asked Peko to leave the two of us alone for a bit, she wasn't quite happy with it even if she didn't express it much but as I am quite used to her I could see the signs quite easily.

I said that after this was over I would love to keep training with her as I do think she is her prettiest when she is swinging her sword with all her might. Despite her best efforts, I could see the slight smile I got so I will consider this as mission accomplished. She really tries to hide her feelings too damn much, but whenever I manage to break the facade a bit it is a victory to me.

"Are you done wasting time?" Vali asked haughtily.

"I wouldn't call it like that, I am just talking to a friend here so why are you so grumpy?" I asked as I used _Jin_ to approach him at high speed. He flew high to evade, but I saw the one coming so I launched some magic blasts at him or more specifically on the places where he would be next.

With no place to move, he had no option but to launch himself directly at me. He pulled back his fist to punch me, he even covered his hands in demonic magic for added power, but I just took a very deep breath and when he was close enough.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

I released a loud yell, well that would be a bad way of seeing it since this is a proper technique that is part of the Black Heaven and Earth technique. It is called _CRY OF THE PHOENIX_ and it releases an extremely powerful sound wave that can push back and disturb most.

In this case, it is powerful enough to push back and force Vali to put his hands on his ears to stop the sound.

It is just a shame that this was more than opening enough for me to put my sword on his neck.

"And you lose." I said, making him very mad... no, mad isn't the right word. I would have to say excited about the challenge.

"Let's do it again!" he said already pulling back to start.

"Wait. Before we begin how about we go eat something? It is time for lunch and I would rather eat my food while hot. Especially since today is the first day that those three were allowed to cook alone, leaving them waiting would be bad manners." I said, and he seemed annoyed.

"But I want to fight!" he said seriously, but to me, he looked no better than a small kid throwing a tantrum.

"And I want to eat. Now you can either stay here looking at the ceiling all day or come with me."

He stomped the ground a few times before his sacred gear flashed a few times making him calm down and accept going to eat.

It is like I just got a troublesome younger brother and _Albion_ is acting like his father, maybe that is why Vali wants to be the next white dragon emperor, to keep his father's figure legacy.

Food for thought.

And speaking of food I want to go and eat already.

Sitting at the table were me, Vali, Phillufy, and Lo'lo. I wanted Peko, Hainekou, Entoma, Solution, and Narberal to sit down too but they adamantly refused.

"It would be improper for servants to eat on the same table as our master." Is what Solution said, gaining a nod of agreement from the others.

I honestly would rather they do not bother with those stupid rules, but I will let this slide this time since I normally force them to sit together. Sometimes respecting others wishes, even the idiotic ones, is necessary.

"Here you go, young lord." Hainekou said as she put the plate with food in front of me. Taking a glance at her I could only barely repress a smile. She has gone a very long way from how she was before, now her fur and hair are well taken care of, she walks with confidence and smiles from the heart much more often.

She even shows her more personal side, like the fact that she is a vain and lazy person every once in a while but she always looks out for the other kids. She has really shaped up as an older sister-like person, and with the power to back it up as she now has control over her sacred gear.

And I admit that this is one dangerous gear, the _Claws of the Wind_ is a sacred gear that scatters dust in the air and from the handle that the user caries he can solidify said dust into blades in midair.

If I were to be honest this gear looks like a perfect assassination weapon, it is silent, undetectable and deadly so it would be great at it. Unfortunately she doesn't like using it for assassination or anything of the sort, prefering to use it for direct combat.

Oh well, it is her gear so she is the one that should decide how to develop it.

"Thanks, Hainekou-Chan, if you made this I am sure that it must be delicious." I said making her blush and smile a bit. She likes being praised so I usually do that to her a lot.

The others were also served, but when it was Vali's turn...

"Here you go, insect." Narberal said as she gave him a sandwich that looked one step away from the garbage can.

"Why are you giving this to me but the others have delicious stuff?" Vali asked as he looked at our plates that had delicious looking sandwiches and juice, he had a drink as well, if you count muddy water as a drink that is.

"Because you are a lower insect that dared to attack our master, so giving you anything is already too much." Narberal answered full of displeasure. I guess that growing up learning from Sebas, who is the closest thing to the perfect image of a servant, made the three act with my family and my well-being on the forefront.

But to call a guest lower than an insect is a bit much.

"Calm down Nabe-Chan, he is just a kid that wants to get stronger. It is hardly something to be mad about. Besides you know that he has no chance of beating me right now anyway so you don't have to worry."

"Understood, I am sorry for displeasing you." Narberal said with a respectful bow.

"Don't worry, I am not displeased with you or anything of the sort. I just wanted you to not treat our guest like this, especially considering he will be staying with us for an indeterminate time frame." I told Nabe, making her calmer. "Besides, he is too weak to actually be a threat anyway."

When Vali heard that last comment he went mad and tried to jump at me, but before he could properly attack Solution appeared on his back with a knife on his neck.

"Please give me the excuse for finishing you off, master forbade me to eat anyone that wasn't an enemy and I always was curious about the taste of Lucifer's bloodline." She said licking her lips.

Solution decided to train in assassination techniques, it is actually very fitting for her since she can remove parts of her body and control them from a distance. If I had to make a comparison she was similar to Majin Buu, but far from having comparable pure destructive power.

Also, she was evil. Loyal to my family no doubt, but she took pleasure in killing innocents and melting enemies inside her body. A person that you should think twice about pissing off.

"Vali," I said calling to him so as for him to stop struggling. "If you want to be alive in this world we live in you should learn to look at your surroundings more." I said with a small smile.

Just then that he started looking around more carefully and finally noticed the many bugs that were on crevices all around them.

It was Entoma's bugs. To be more precise it was the Bullet Bug, a special species of bug that when jumping could fly just like a bullet. If you added their absurdly hard shell than you have the equivalent to anti-tank rifles everywhere.

Entoma was also no doubt very deadly, she has a wide repertoire of bugs that she can create to use as weapons or for battling for her. And despite being the youngest of us she is also very talented in hand to hand combat and shows great promise as an all-rounder.

She did not say anything to Vali, mostly because I was petting her head to calm her down. She is only 4-years-old and I don't want her to dirty her hands with blood for as long as possible.

It seems like Vali's tip is finally falling, he finally realized that right now he is the weakest person here.

In my opinion, it is due to his absurd dependency of his sacred gear, he just keeps trying to get physical with the enemy all the time, but his speed still isn't high enough and he still isn't nearly experienced enough to fight as he pleases. And if he wants to kill his grandpa he will NEED to relly on other things too.

"What do you want?" I asked Vali after finishing lunch, he has also eaten his sandwich but he needed conspicuous amounts of water to flush it down.

He looked sick from the food, so I would ask a maid to get him a proper meal later. Right now I would also look at this as if a small revenge for trying to attack me twice already.

"What I want? I want to fight eternally, to reach the top of the world and become supreme and be a true heavenly dragon!" he says with fire on his eyes.

It may sound like a child's rant, but there was something on it that made everyone listening to believe it was possible. That he would reach the top of the world.

Interesting, very interesting.

In the novel, it never showed how Vali made so many strong individuals decided to follow him, but right now I can see it a bit.

He has a certain charisma to him, I doubt he would ever bend his knees and accept following someone else, but he still is someone that I can't help but want to help.

"Good! If this is what you want, then what you need to do is learn. Learn how to use your sacred gear, devil's magic, Touki, anything to get stronger. We will help you in this endeavor, but be warned that some of us here will get occupied soon as the ceremony to obtain my evil pieces will happen." I said.

"Evil pieces? Why do you bother with something so stupid?" he asked. "One should only count with oneself, others are inconsequential, to say the least."

"Because having one is better as this will allow me to participate in rating games and fight strong enemies even if peace is obtained." I said, catching his interest.

I won't say anything else, he needs to think about what I said by himself and I have something better to do than entertain him right now anyway.

I agreed with Rias to go to the human world as she wanted to look around. It will be a safe city in Japan, so there shouldn't be any problems there.

I asked Hainekou to present Vali to Chisa so as to teach him about devil magic.

Now it is up to him how he will develop.

* * *

Beta: Fanfiction0000

* * *

 **Writer's Note:**

 **I just wanted to inform everyone that I put a pool in my profile to ask of you people how I should for the last four spots in Joseph's peerage. If it should be DxD CANON characters, OC only characters, or a mix of the two.**

 **The pool will be there for a few more days so be sure to vote if you can. =)**

 **Besides that, I hope you guys are enjoying the story. There still is a lot to show and I hope you will like it.**

 **Bye bye.**


	10. chapter 10

Me and Rias took our time while walking casually through the woods, beaming happily, joking about, making insults towards Riser and those that annoys us, generally having a nice time.

I have to admit, seeing this character as a child and not the mature-looking busty beauty she is in the anime is a... rather refreshing sight. The air was fresh and she loved to play around everywhere, she is extremely curious and full of opinion on everything and she wouldn't listen unless she hits a wall. Plus, when she gets an accidental cut she whines and whines until I heal it for her. Minor cuts are fine for me to heal anyways. She is basically a typical rich family's kid, but she is fun to be with nonetheless.

"Hey, hey, do you know what this is?" Rias asked while pointing to a plant on the ground. It was a very... unique plant, at least to here in the human world, but it isn't that surprising to see some of them here close to Kuoh, a city well known for its high magic energy on its atmosphere. Just an entirely crimson plant that had an aroma similar to the smell of hot blood. Hence the name of the plant.

"This one is a magic blood herb, it is a common plant that grows up when in a place with abundant amounts of magic. It isn't especially valuable, the most it can do is stimulate the production of blood in the body of magic beings like us." I explained. This is a plant that can be found anywhere and we use it back home for Solution since she is mostly carnivorous and this herb can replace meat and lessen her desire for hunting and eating alive about it, maybe we could use this as a means for housing beings that only rely on specific meats, as in they could ONLY eat certain meat types thanks to their bodies being built the way they were.

"Oohh, so you think it is good stuff?" She asked me, curiously. I had to hold in my urge to just hug her, cause she looked goddamn adorable. Though that was the adult me talking. I shrugged my shoulder. I honestly don't care about this one since I have a large stock of them back home.

She ended up picking that one before continuing on our way, though. Will probably show her parents and ask them if she could keep it. I didn't mind since, again, I have a lot of those back home.

We ran and played all over the place. I probably am one of the few people that she can even be with considering how there aren't any other kids around her and even if she plays with Sona a lot she is usually too busy (mostly trying, and failing, to run from Serafall). The only other kid close to her age was that Riser guy, but she wouldn't want to be near him even with a 10 foot pole... thinking about it, there was this one time during a party where she nearly got away with dragging an iron pole of similar length into it, but her father blew it up.

"...lp!" a voice in the distance yelled, but considering how far away it is we could barely even hear it.

Huh?

What the?

Rias was about to say something, but I shushed her down so I could try to listen.

"Help! Please help us!" a child's voice, it came from deeper within these woods and is likely female. The voice is coarse which indicates that whoever is yelling has been doing that for a while.

I can either go to help and risk facing whatever is happening there (Satan knows that the unknown is hardly something good), or to ignore it and walk away.

If I was smarter I would probably let it be and walk away, but in the end, I am still on a child's body and the curiosity is just too big.

"Let's go." I said while holding Rias' hand. If I saw the first sign of danger I would retreat or at least give Rias an opening to do it.

Getting closer we saw two girls. One of the two was quite wounded and both seemed to have seen better days.

I was still cautious, especially since the non-wounded one was carrying a blodied knife and was glaring at us with vigilance.

"Calm down, we came to help." I said to her.

She remained vigilant, but her friend's wounds we're pressuring.

"She is hurt, can you help her?" The one wielding a knife asked.

"I can try, but what will you give me in exchange?" I asked, showing my wings.

I am a devil, and while I can't go out searching for contracts yet it doesn't mean I can't take advantage of the situation to look for one.

A loophole on the system so to say.

"What do you want? I don't have anything, just myself." She questioned with self-pity. But her face remained stoic through it all.

"Then we will take both of you. And before you say anything knows that I promise good food, a place to rest properly and it will be just until you are old enough to take care of yourself." Call me predictable but I intend to take these two and help them. Maybe I can get a peerage member, maybe I will just help these two out of this place, I don't know, and honestly speaking anything would work for me. If she doesn't agree to my request I will still help anyway, but just the basic care of the wounds and not the poverty situation or bring her back to full health.

What can I say? Benevolent devils tend to have a better reputation than the opposite type, case in point the four new Maous in comparison with the old-Satan faction.

Now, what will she choose?

"We refuse." The wounded one said even as her face continued to pale. "I refuse to make Mukuro-chan a slave because of me. I'd rather die!" The one on the ground said.

Mukuro looked at her friend with worry, but hearing this she smiled a bit. Well, that is just until she saw her friend coughing blood.

"We accept! Don't listen to her, she is going crazy with the lack of blood, we accept so please, PLEASE SAVE HER!"

The one in the ground made to protest, but I smiled at it all and released a small laugh as I said.

"Sure, the contract now is completed." And I went to the side of the wounded one in the ground to do something that many would see as strange.

I cut my wrist to release my blood on the wound.

It was funny, my very blood carried some of the properties of my sacred gear but the healing provided is hardly comparable. I can at most close the wounds with the blood but scars remain and it will not restore the lost blood.

I guess the herb we found early can be of use here as I asked Rias to squish it on the girl's mouth until nothing more was left of the herb's juices. It seemed that the wounded girl also knew what kind of herb that was since she didn't, or rather chose not to, resist the help we gave her. Idly, I note the way her throat gulped down the juices, noticing how the rejuvenation of blood made her skin look much better than before.

"Now she will be fine. I would recommend getting a proper doctor to look over it, but I can assure you that there will not be any risk for her life." I said to Mukuro.

In the end, we had to put our outing in the woods on an early end as we took the two for proper doctors on my house.

* * *

"You know, Joseph-sama, if you keep bringing people like this too me all the time I will have to start demanding payment for me." Mansherry said after finishing the treatment of the wounded girl. Mukuro also went through a check up but did not have even a scratch on her body. "But for you to bring a fallen angel here, *SIGH* you will not be allowed to keep this one here even if you want to. She can stay until we finish the treatment and not one day more."

Most fallen angels hate my house to the bone due to how my grandpa managed to reduce their numbers by a whopping 22% alone before dying, it was probably the heaviest blow the fallen angels received during the entire Great War and, to be fair, my father also hated the fallen angels due to they having killed HIS father. Keeping a fallen angel girl here is about as bad an idea as it could be.

Sigh, if only we already had the peace talks done with there wouldn't be this problem as my father would respect the treaty and would not do anything to this child.

After apologizing for the troubles I keep giving her I bid my farewells to Mansherry and went to see Mukuro.

She was sitting on a bench close by with a large plate of food that she was wolfing down with gusto.

"Now that we are no longer in that situation could you explain to me why was your friend wounded and who exactly you two are?"

She nodded slowly before starting to talk.

"My name is Mukuro Ikusaba, I am an orphan. My friend's name is Akeno Himejima and she also is an orphan according to herself." Mukuro said. Well shit, this is Rias' QUEEN in the other room. That at least explains what she was doing in the human world since no fallen child would be found there unless in unusual situations. "We lived on what we could find, it was not much but we did have each other's company so it wasn't that bad overall. I would protect us while she tried to work exorcising evil spirits like her mother taught her... but, but this last one wasn't an evil spirit. It was some sort of monster, Akeno called him a stray devil or whatever, I never understood what she was talking about when she started talking supernatural with me.

"That monster ambushed us, he first went for Akeno. I killed it with my knife, yet I failed her! I let her get hurt! It should not have happened and now we must follow other devils! Why is life like this?! Why is it that the two of us have to be the ones being hurt all the time? Why, just WHY?!"

"Because you still are too weak." I said plainly. "Don't get me wrong, I know that what I am saying is terrible but it is the truth I've learned since I was born is that the weak suffer because they are incapable of truly deciding anything for themselves, most times depending on the whims of the stronger ones for charity. If you want respect, power, to truly live as you please, you must be strong enough to take this happiness and not let it get away. If you want, I can help you train. To see a better way and to get strong enough to do as you please, but remember that I will not force you in any way. The only reason as to why I asked for this contract was to see if you had what it take to be strong, to do what is necessary for survival.

"And, truthfully speaking, you do seems have the qualifications. So let me help you, I will make you strong enough on this next 10 years and if you want to leave by them I will not stop you in any way." I said to her.

I may seem too much sparta-like, but I meant what I said. And the truth of my words s proved right here as she is depending on the whims of someone stronger than her, me.

She looks blankly at me for a while, but after a few seconds, her face hardened as a decision was made.

She said yes.

* * *

It has been some time since the two new additions to my house settled in.

Vali would challenge me or one of the others every five minutes, and no matter how badly he got hurt he would stand up again and continue fighting after his wounds healed enough to allow him to move again. I guess teaching him how to heal himself with magic may not have been our brightest idea, especially considering how he sometimes starts requesting duels even on the sleep time.

To be honest I heard once from one of the maids that he was saying 'let's fight now' while sleeping... he is probably an addict at fighting. Well, he does get a bit stronger after every fight so he truly is a natural at it.

At least now he already is deviating more from his CANON counterpart as he is starting to use devil magic more often and is not so over-reliant on his sacred gear.

Mukuro, on the other hand, showed complete incapacity in magic. Seriously, the girl is a complete failure at it, but she showed amazing talent, on the same scale as Peko with swordplay or maybe even higher, when it comes to guns and knives. Everything military really, it is like she was born to be an ultimate soldier.

She even sent an essay to a military magazine a few days ago about how to better use equipment and how to identify good ambush spots (she really hates ambushes now, when they are not done by her that is). To help her further I talked to Kasper and he allowed for two of his peerage members to help teach Mukuro in a rotation style, he even agreed to sell me some magic guns and other miscellaneous items so as to leave them with Mukuro.

No need to say that she was very grateful, especially when she saw that I did as promised and gave her and her friend a home. Well, to be fair Akeno went to Rias' house since there is no way to keep her here. But she does come to visit often with Rias so Mukuro did not complain.

But today it is not about them, it is my 7 years old birthday and the day I FINALLY receive my evil pieces.

"Now, let's begin the ritual." Ajuka's voice said from the side. Right now I am in front of a giant pyramid made of some weird material that I honestly cannot identify.

The 'ritual' was absurdly simple. I just put my right hand on the pyramid and felt some of my energy being drained away. It wasn't much, but it still was uncomfortable, to say the least.

This energy was the necessary energy to serve as a bridge between myself and the evil pieces. Like this, my soul is connected to this pieces so feeling their location and transmit some energy becomes possible.

"Do you swear to follow the rules of our society and treat your future servants with the proper respect?" Ajuka asked as a formality, but I took this words to the heart.

"YES, I will be an exemplare devil and bring prosperity to my family and my servants until the day I die!" I said, earning an approving nod from Ajuka.

He then proceeded to rake the evil pieces from a compartment in the pyramid and deliver it to me on a suitcase, but after he looked at the pieces his smile got REALLY strained and he showed shock.

"Wow, this is probably a first." He said. "Congratulations Joseph, you have quite a few mutation pieces with you here."

YES! That is so FUCKING GOOD!

Mutation pieces are definitely good stuff, they will allow me to contract even those who normally would not be possible.

Before I could look and see which pieces I got a mutation Ajuka said.

"Could you call Vali inside? He also has to obtain his evil pieces." Oh yeah, Vali did accept the idea of having a peerage of his own after father talked to him about it... even if he said it would be so as to always have someone to fight against without minor details like 'sleep' or 'I am on the toilet right now'.

He was a brat, through and through.

"Yes, Beelzebub-sama." I said before turning around and going outside.

"Son, I am so happy for you." Mother said before hugging me tightly. She truly was an absurdly busy business woman, but whenever it was my birthday or any time she could she would come home to spend some time with me.

"Calm down mother, I am happy to see you but you are breaking my ribs here!" And I wasn't kidding, I felt at least two of my ribs to crack slightly. After she stopped trying to cut me in two with a hug I gave her a hug too.

I haven't seen her for the last full month and I miss her quite a bit.

I told Vali to go inside to get his pieces while I continued to talk to mother.

We talked a bit about everything, I told her of my training, of my visit to the human world and my meeting with Mukuro and Vali, about pranking Riser with the help of Mare and Aura. And she told e about her travels worldwide, meeting dignitaries from all over the place and how she started designing for children too.

We even agreed to work together on her next fashion show. I would like that since I would apparently have the chance of meeting my grandma on the mother's side. She also works on the fashion industry and she has said multiple times that she wanted to meet me but mother feared to bring me with her as there are just too many enemies to house Barbatus and if I, the next head, appears somewhere that is possible to be attacked, well the chances of it happening are quite high.

The next show will be in Yugoslavia, my mother's family's homeland.

"Mom, where is father?" I asked.

"He is currently preparing for his speech, well more of a declaration than a speech but you get the idea." she said. "But let's forget that for now. Let me see it, what your evil pieces are like."

I smiled with her when she said that.

I put the suitcase on the table and opened it.

The piece were all silver-yellow in color, but there were a few that were clearly different.

7 pawns, one rook, and one bishop. All these were mutation type.

I, I don't even have words to describe how amazing this is. Normally just a single mutation piece is rare, but this is as Ajuka said.

It is absurd.

And I will use it well, oh yes I will.

* * *

 **Writer's Note:**

 **I am just here to remind you all that the pool is still open. The peerage will NOT be an haren peerage, there will be harm members there but they are not the only ones there. There already are at the very least 3 males in there.**

 **Also, here is a list of the characters that could be added to Joseph's peerage from the DxD world:**

 **\- Connla (the shadow guy from the hero faction) [pawn];**

 **\- Heracles [rook];**

 **\- Leonardo [pawn];**

 **\- Ravel [bishop];**

 **\- Jeanne [knight];**

 **\- Xenovia [knight];**

 **\- Elmenhilde [pawn];**

 **\- Kuisha Abadom (Sairaorg's Queen) [pawn];**

 **\- Misteeta Sabnock (Sairaorg's bishop that has the trick vanish sacred gear) [bishop];**

 **\- Liban Crocel (Sairaorg's Knight that has the gravity sacred gear, the one with shiny eyes) [knight];**

 **\- Tomoe Meguri (Sona's Knight, will be improved to match better with the rest of the peerage) [knight];**

 **-Rossweise [bishop or rook, but I am tending to bishop];**

 **These are all I can think off that I could safely work with without having troubles in the grand structure of the story.**

 **See and if you want them as part of Joseph's peerage please vote and tell me on a review or PM which of them would you like.**


	11. chapter 11

"...And so I make this proclamation: I will NOT tolerate and stand by when innocent children are being treated cruelly for dark motives or just for sick humor. If I find any trace or evidence of the people responsible for the heinous actions done to Vali and the other children, I WILL destroy them, I WILL crush them, no matter who, and no matter what political backing they have, damn the consequences! I swear to my ancestors that these actions will be done, I will fight and destroy anyone that even touches a hair on those children!" Father declared boldly that day. Ever since his declaration to put an end to the wicked devils responsible for the cruelty to children, the Underworld's nobility took this proclamation in waves.

Well, waves would be a drastic understatement as to the level of shit that went down afterward.

He spent the following ten days traveling all over the underworld, purging many minor nobles that were well known for their violent tendencies against children. It was like watching a massive, unstoppable storm tearing his way through the underworld, no matter what opposition that was sent his way to 'deal' with him before their clients could be exposed, nothing would stop him. Father was always like that, when he set his mind to something, that man would get it done no matter what. His first target were pedophiles that he crushed, thanks to Demiurge's investigation and accurate information.

Surprisingly enough, there was no consequence or reprimand from the devil council, even the stingy, uppity ass devils who believe strictly in the old tradition. They, in contrary to what I saw reading the DxD Light Novel, had just let father do as he pleased. Though, I soon found out why from mother, whom father had told before going on his rampage through the Underworld. Apparently, father entered a deal with Zekram after providing him with the story of Vali.

I hadn't met him personally, but then again I had knowledge of the Light novels to draw on. Zekram Bael, in those novels, was shown to be a very dutiful man, weighing the needs of the many over the needs of a few, as he ordered the death of Diehauser Belial's cousin just to protect the status quo of both Heaven and the Underworld. While Zekram does take importance in Devils' traditions, old teachings, and values such as high-class devils' viewpoints of blood purity, he does acknowledge people of exceptional ability as he considered Sairaorg talented despite Sairaorg not inheriting the Power of Destruction.

Though, that acknowledging would still be in the future... hopefully.

Nevertheless, to say that Zekran was mad when he heard how the devil race almost lost someone with such potential was like saying the sun was hot. Not only that, but father once commented on how the look on his face when he learned his rivaled said sun in its intensity, and how he himself had almost felt like burning under his presence (Zekran IS at least as strong as Syrzechs anyway). And with what father showed him the results of Demiurge's investigation, of how many promising younglings died due to useless parasites and how much stronger our race would have been if that had not happened.

Basically, Zekram gave Father the green card to go crazy. And crazy would be an understatement of what Father did. By the end of the first week, Father had purged more than 46 lower families. The abused children were sent to proper locations for protection and proper care, and those who had been forcefully revived as devils are taken in by other devil families who are known for their kindness and generosity.

The higher nobles did not complain since they received new prospect of peerage members while the lower nobles could distribute part of the land and money obtained from the purged nobles.

As long as those asshats had their wealth, they would put up with anything, it seemed.

And this also worked out for my house since it has managed to show those devils that never put my house on equal standing as the other pillars, that we are more than strong enough. Essentially, to those that demeaned us in the past, this was our response to 'talk again and you die, bitch', or something along those lines. There were even some that started to call us 'rabid dogs'.

I would laugh if it wasn't for the fact that I am now barely breathing properly as sweat drops from my face while I continue to practice with gravity magic. I am using it to raise the gravity on my body so as to train my body better as I swing my sword.

I think I am getting closer to the liberation of at least part of the first level of my sword. Enough to transform it alone, but my body will remain as it first level of the sword can be divided into just the weapon or full body, but considering how the pressure on the full body transformation would be absurd I will have to restrain myself to just the weapon for now.

Last time I talked to father he explained it to me, the full body release is still only for when I am at the very minimum 11 or 12 years old, but the sword alone might be possible soon.

I think so too as I started to try and communicate with the sword ever since the scribing process ended, the technique of dividing my thought helped on that as I could constantly try to communicate with the sword even while training something else entirely.

But to be honest I only see thunder when I try to communicate with the sword, it is like the world's completely made of blurred thunder. I guess this might be because this body originally had a high connection to thunder and electricity. If that was the case though, then once my magic reserves grow a bit maybe I could learn some elemental attacks like the Lightning Armour from **Naruto** , or maybe those **Thunder** **Dragon Slayer** attacks of Laxus from **Fairy Tail** , he was one of my favorite characters from the show after all.

Anyway, I am happy now that I have my own peerage. Even though there are only three people in my peerage right now, I'm still satisfied with it.

The first one is Peko, who took the Knight piece, and boy let me tell you, she became more deadly when she got it. Her speed doubled more and her attack, reaction, and strength tripled. Honestly, in my current state, I have to be at full power to match her, let alone defeat her. She is one scary girl, that is for sure.

The second was Lo'lo who took a Rook piece. I can safely say that he is now many times more physically capable than before as he now has a mutation piece instead of a normal one. Last I saw him weight lift he put a 20 meters mountain on his back, and he wasn't even straining because of it. Just imagining how strong he will be when he is older is enough to send chills down my back.

Caesar was the last peerage member I have right now. He didn't gain much as he is simply a pawn, but now that he is officially a member of the household he has much greater freedom of research. Father's pawn, Judge Vinsmoke, said he would personally teach him about science and technology.

To say that Caesar was happy with the new founds and materials he was receiving for his studies was an understatement.

I thought about adding the girls too, but I will not force them whatsoever. Any of them would be more than welcome, as I already told them, but I will now demand anything from any of them. They already were forced on lives they did not desire before and I do not want to make them go through with that ever again.

Well, except for Phillufy as her mother sent a message forbidding her of being transformed on a devil so adding her is forbidden. She looked a bit down as she did thought fondly of the idea, probably due to the unlimited amount of food we would provide and that she is quite attached to me, so instead I proposed for her to be my familiar.

And she accepted!

I am so freaking lucky, and you know the best part? Kuroka's situation was resolved without I even needing to interfere actively. Apparently, her master was an absolute fool that believed himself untouchable and he was not vigilant enough about his surroundings. Due to that and the message from father for all to hear Kuroka decided to ask his help.

Long story short: he found the location and apprehended Kuroka's former master with no difficulty. He then proceeded to investigate exactly what he was doing and when he found out how he planned to use Kuroka and her sister on his research for obtaining a Devil's _true form_ , well there wasn't enough pieces of said master to put on a coffin.

Father then proceeded to bring Kuroka and Shirone to our house as he feared that someone might try the same with these two, after all, there were shreds of evidence that said master was communicating with someone about his results, but father could not discover who it was exactly.

Strangely enough, Kuroka took a liking for Vali, mainly for his powerful dragon aura radiating or whatever. Even in the canon, she was always focused on wanting to birth powerful kittens to renew the Nekoshou race. Though, in canon, she had been set on having Issei's children since Vali had been too much of a battle maniac to notice anything that wasn't a battle.

But hopefully not this time, since the conditions were different. Who knows, maybe he might actually try being with a girl someday... if he doesn't let his love for battle get in the way, which is almost certainly right now.

In the end, though, Vali decided to take her as a Bishop piece, he only had two mutation pieces and one was this bishop he used and the other is a rook.

Shirone, on the other hand, got attached to Rias quite easily. My bet is that the scratching behind the ears was too good. I think it won't be long before she ends up on Rias' peerage. At least this means that one of my objectives is complete.

The system has sent me a reward too, but it wasn't that big of a deal. It was the location of 5 of the Longinus' users: Valerie, Vali, Issei, Walburga, and Leonardo.

And knowing about the Longinus' locations, yeah these locations are useless right now.

For the peerage Vali is impossible, Issei would not fit, and Walburga is a no. The only ones that I could or would want to potentially sway to my peerage are Valerie and Leonardo. However, Leonardo is probably still only 2 or 3 years old and I have no interest in taking him away from his family while Valerie is completely out of question. I am NOT ready for Ryzevin to potentially aim at me to get to his favorite toy.

I feel sorry for her but safety first and she is a ticking time bomb. Maybe when I am confident that my powers are enough to protect myself and those I care about I will rescue her, but until then no deal.

It felt... more than a little frustrating to think about it, more so than I had initially expected.

Anyhow, after everything that Father did, my house is no longer safe. There were at least three times more failed kidnapping and assassination attempts against the members of the household, most dangers focused mainly on me because I am the heir of the house. Many devils want to get revenge against Father for his actions and desiring to restrict his actions by using me as a bargaining chip. So, to make sure I am safer, it was decided that I should spend 'time with mother'. She will be traveling all over the world and the devils that want to attack me would not be capable of doing it so easily on the human world. Well, they will see me traveling all over the place at least, I would like to see them trying to attack as it would be hilarious, to say the least.

Vali will also be sent to a secure location since he too is in constant danger of kidnappings from the old-Satan faction, and while keeping him at home is viable he is prone to trying to rush in to fight any invaders whenever they appear. Even if they are dozens of times stronger than him.

Did I say he is a battle junky idiot? Because he is, he is one very much.

On Vali's case, he will be sent to England to stay with the Pendragon family as they are long-term allies with my house, an alliance born from rivalry over many generations apparently. Something about deciding the strongest sword master's clan, which is a complete idiocy considering that my house is the strongest no questions asked (my opinion may be just a tiny little bit biased).

"Are you done already, boss?" Lo'lo asked as he appeared on the door. He is going with me as added security, Peko also wanted to come but her father denied her request on account of the necessity of training so as to better control the speed granted by the knight piece.

"We're ready when you are," Solution said from the side. She and Haineko will be coming too as maids. Well, Solution is because of that, Haineko is coming just to get as far away from Kuroka as possible.

Have you ever seen how a house cat reacts to a new adult cat in the house? These two relationship is bad like that. I've lost count of how many times these two entered in conflict.

I decided to ask her to come with me, partly because I trust her, but mostly because I don't want my house to turn into rumbles because of all this fighting.

Well, it is time to get going.

"It has been so long since last time! Give mommy a hug!" Mother said before hugging me tightly.

"M-Mom, you are suffocating meee..." I squeaked as I tried to breath. Honestly, mom is too damn strong for my lungs good.

"Sorry, I just missed you too much." she said as she stopped trying to choke him with her boobies. If it wasn't mother's boobs I wouldn't care about dying by too many boobs, but this is far from my comfort zone thank you very much.

We started talking as the driver started driving towards the place where I will be spending most of my time.

"So grandma accepted to look after me for now?" I asked.

"Yes, of course, she did. She said she wanted to make sure you are growing up well and that she would make absolutely sure that you are safe until the dust settles down back home." mom said with a smile, before showing a troubled face. "But if possible try to get along with her, okay?"

"Why are you saying that?" I asked tilting my head a bit.

"Well, it is just that she is a bit stern, hard to read and she believes about power and helping others are quite strong. Most always end up disliking her due to that as she is quite the perfectionist." Mother explained.

Well, if it is so I think we two will get along just fine.

"Mistress, will there truly be no problems for us to be there?" Solution asked while Haineko continued to sleep and droll in my lap (pretty much like cat like to sleep on their owner's lap, not that we are in this sort of relationship or anything mind you, I am still too young for SM play) and Lo'lo continued running through the forest as he hunted down anything that moved.

"Oh don't you worry, Solution-chan. She is used to taking care of children anyway so there won't be any problem." mother said, which helped to calm down Solution.

The rest of the trip was quite peaceful. I played a card game with Solution while Haineko continued to sleep on my lap, Lo'lo returned after a while and was happily smiling as he told of his fight against a wild stray devil that was around, I wasn't worried as he has ways to communicate if anything bad happened and he wasn't stupid enough to fight without at least knowing he can escape if necessary. He was quite happy since he, and I quote, 'showed who has the greatest fang around here'.

"We arrived, Milady." the driver said with a heavy German accent.

As we opened the door it was clear that we were quite far from any city. There were multiple magic barriers all over the house, and the house looked like a castle straight out of a painting of the middle ages.

When we arrived a woman started to approach us, she was in a wheelchair and she had shoulder length indigo hair, lilac eye, eye-patch, and a long black dress. She looked easily over 80 years old, but there was a clear edge and charisma to her, it was like she was an old queen.

"Mom, I missed yo-"

"You are late." the woman said, cutting mother. "And where is the grandson that you have hidden from me?"

Mom was almost shaking just by being glared at by grandma.

"It is an honor to meet you, grandmother." I said with a bow.

She looked at me seriously and said.

"I know your situation, but I don't desire to have a weakling calling me this intimately. You can take your things to the room I prepared, after that will be lunch and after I want to see how much I will have to work with you so as to make you deserving of calling me like that. Until then you will call me Nastassja-sama." she said impassively. She then turned her head to the back and said. "Maria, and you too Chris, get here already and show our guests their rooms!"

""Hy, mom"" two girls came out of the house after grandma called. One had short lavender-white hair, light purple eyes, and was wearing a cute pink dress, the other has long coral hair with two horns like curls of hair with a blue flower accessory on each 'horn', she has green-blue eyes and a blue dress with black tights and pink ribbon near her stomach.

Surprisingly enough I could feel that both of them had sacred gears, but the one with 'horns' seemed to have two gears.

We were pulled inside while mother 'escaped' from there as fast as possible.

To think Grandma was terrifying enough to make even mother, a woman that is close to Satan-class, to run away, and I also could clearly feel that grandma is the stronger one between the two. And this grandam of mine said she would teach me.

Cool.

 **Writer's Note:**

 **Just a reminder that in 4 days I intend to close the pool. Right now it is neck on neck between having three CANON characters and one OC or a full 4 CANON characters.**

 **And in case of doubt these are the characters from other franchises I would choose from if I to add an OC:**

 **Love Aikawa (Bleach - the visored with a giant mace as a weapon)** ;

 **Hitsugaya (Bleach Abridged - he is just too funny)** ;

 **Coyote Stark (Bleach)** ;

 **Vergo (One Piece - Doflamingo' s subordinate)** ;

 **Pedro (One Piece)** ;

 **Aura Bella Fiorre (overlord);**

 **Mare Bella Fiorre (Overlord);**

 **Ren Hakuryu (Magi);**

 **Veldora Tempest (Tensei Slime Shitara Datta Ken);**

 **Naofumi Iwatami or Motoyasu (Shield Hero);**

 **And a few other options.**

I **want to add at least one more male to the peerage, if OC or CANON doesn't matter, just not to make the peerage too female focused as right now there are only 3 males there** **excluding the MC.**


	12. Chapter 12

"So, you're Mom's grandchild?" one of the two girls asked me directly, while the other remained silent, still looking interested though. As I look at them, I wonder what I can tell them, as even though these girls seem human enough, I don't know if their allegiances truly align with Grandma, or some other 'interested parties' that want me under a hanging rope in the middle of the Underworld.

Hey, I have every right to be cautious.

Nonetheless, they are being cordial with me, so I have no right to not do the same. "Yes, I am. And are you two my aunts?" I asked evenly, doing my best to hide my cautious feelings. I mean, they keep calling her Mom so who knows for sure, in this world there are stranger things than an old woman to have kids, case in point is how a dick like Locky could bang anything and how he could give birth to a dragon and a giant wolf even though he is a man. Did it leave his body from his anus, and if so does he need to use a diaper afterward?

Questions no one wants to know the answer to.

"Pff~, no, not at all." the same girl said barely holding a laugh, resulting in a snicker. Looks like this one was the more outspoken of the two. "She is our teacher as the two of us have sacred gears. We wanted to learn how to use them better. Oh, I almost have forgotten to introduce myself. My name is Yukine Chris, nice to meet you I guess." Chris said as she holds a hand out. Sensing no threat from her, I reach out and take her hand in mine, giving it a firm shake.

Both of us looked at the silent girl, who jumps slightly when the attention is drawn to her. She looks more of a reserved, quiet, shy type, while her friend is the opposite. "A-and mine is Maria Eve, n-n-nice to meet y-you," the girl named Maria Eve introduced stuttering, giving me a bow. That raised a brow from me, but I chose to keep silent from her attitude. In all honesty, she reminded me of Mare of her timidity.

"It is nice to meet you two too." I reply with a little more formality than I would have liked, followed by Hainekou and Solution. Lo'lo did not say anything as he continued to be vigilant after experiencing grandma's pressure. It's like when an animal has a brief brush with death, it leaves them more cautious, borderline paranoid, for a while.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence between the group, a short moment, however, thanks to the more talkative of these two girls. "Hey, how is it?" Chris asked, curiously.

However, I wasn't sure on what she was asking me about. I'd need more concrete information if she wanted a proper answer. " What is 'it' exactly?" I question back.

Looked like she was someone with little patience, as I sensed a slight more aggression in her tone, like she had expected me to know what she was talking about from the get-go. Her eyes glimmer briefly as she spoke again. "The underworld, you idiot." At that point, her aggression dropped and she became the curious one once more. "I was always curious of how it is exactly, I read the Bible and the description is full of fire and stuff, but is it like that? Is it true that you eat unborn children as breakfast and that you torture for pleasure?"

Okay... I'll admit this freely, but I could barely contain a growl of frustration hearing that.

"No, no it is not true at all." I reply, shaking my head vividly. A clear sign of irritation would be my power flow, but luckily I was able to restrain that. "The church should be called the number one propaganda factory of the world because they somehow turned their absurd lies into truths on the eyes of others! We do NOT eat unborn children OR is the place constantly on fire. If anything it looks quite close to the human world, we have our cities, villages, and the population is normal for the most part. And the sky is purple with a fake sun." I explained.

Turns out that was the right thing to say to this 'Chris' character. "Oh, that sounds so cool! Can you take us there one of these times? I would love to go and see the underworld!" Chris asks me excitedly, bouncing up and down and doing that typical fangirl pose with her hands together below her chin.

I nodded without hesitation. At first, I had my doubts, but through this talk, they haven't shown any signs of deception towards me. Looks like these two weren't very evil in nature and showing them the world there could be an interesting thing.

Then, the other girl, Maria, spoke up. "And the other one?" Maria whispered/asked, getting everyone's attention. Luckily, she didn't jump this time.

"What 'other one'?" I asked her gently. If she truly is like Mare then I have to treat her with gentleness and care, and even if I am wrong I am not about to treat a lady badly (the fact I think she is beautiful has nothing to do with this... alright maybe a tiny bit).

"T-the torture, do you guys do it for pleasure r-right?" Maria asked.

... Ouch, that one's a toughie, not only because of the topic itself but also my recent experience with that topic through Kuroka and the other children that were abused by their masters. The world wasn't black and white, that much I learned even in my previous life. My dad was a fan of this TV series called 'Daredevil' and it stated that 'there's no such thing about good or evil, it's just men and their agenda'. Thinking back to the canon novels, I could think of a few examples of this like Asia the fallen nun, Akeno the Fallen Angel, that Evil Dragon, and others. "Not for pleasure, and it isn't like everyone does it, but yes we do use torture in some cases." I answered truthfully, behind me none of the others looked disturbed in the slightest about the conversation.

It did prove to be a bit much for the girl, as she shied away from him with fear in her eyes. "Scary, you are scary." Maria whimpered as a sigh escaped her friend's lips.

"Please don't misunderstand what I just said." I decided to say before she cemented this incorrect idea. I'd rather not have to deal with this further down the line, so I'll nip it in the bud right now. "While true that some of us have to resort to torture we only do that to enemies and if there is an actual reason, like figuring out who was trying to kill you and things like this. I wish there were better ways, but neither I nor my family would be alive today if we were too afraid of doing what is necessary. Think of it like this, there's no such thing as good or people, but people and their ideals." I said, but I made it a point to put my hand in a firm but comfortable way on Hainekou's shoulder. She still has lingering fear from her short stay on the torture Chambers, so whenever I talk about it I try to show her some care so as to calm her down.

"B-But torture is ba-"

"Okay, stop all this nonsense, Maria. He does what he needs to, and as far as we know it isn't really HIM who does it, just those from his house or other pillars." Chris interrupted sharply, cutting Maria off. "Anyway, go get ready as Mom doesn't like to wait for her lunch and she was anxious about meeting you." Chris said before dragging Maria out (not like she looked any happy about that if the protests were anything to go by).

These two reminds me of Mare and Aura, I just hope they are okay.

Later, we are all having dinner in one of the dining rooms Grandma's mansion has. All of us are seated at this long, square table with a white cloth over it, a table that looked like it could host a feast with its size. Oddly enough, it reminds me of the table at the beginning of the Black Butler series where the MC's are eating with an important guest. Can't remember the name though.

The room itself looked as lavishing as one might expect from someone of Grandma's stature. With maroon walls, peach colored ceiling, painting of different members of their family hanging on the walls, it definitely fit the standards of a noblewoman. There were knight armors on tall racks aligning the corners of the room, wielding an assertion of different weapons. We were all sat on different sides of the table, me on one side, my friends on the left, mom on the opposite side and Grandma opposite me.

This setup...

It oddly made me feel like I'm being examined in a courtroom of some kind. Whelp, not like Grandma was very accommodating when I first arrived here, so I shouldn't be surprised.

"I hear that you have been training your devil's powers, am I wrong?" Grandma asks me while pausing eating her lunch. Now that I look, it looks to consist of simple eggs, beans, and toast. Not something one would expect a Noblewoman to eat, but perhaps staying in the human world for so long influenced her tastes?

Shaking my head, I answer while Mom keeps shifting worried glances between us. "I have been, yes. Unfortunately, I have made little progress in the sword's first level and I still am a distance away from being capable of using gravity that well too." I state back, not hiding behind any excuses. Just from the brief interaction I had with her, I can tell Grandma isn't the type of person who takes other people's bullshit. She would rather have the facts as they were, so I'll give them to her.

"I see..."

For a moment, we continued eating. There wasn't much change in the atmosphere between us.

"After we finish eating I want to see the progress of you and your peerage members' here." grandma said.

"Well, that means me and Lo'lo, right?"

"And these two?" Grandma asked while pointing at Solution and Hainekou who were sitting at my sides.

"They are friends, and while it is true that I would like nothing more than if they accepted to be a part of my peerage they haven't as of now and I have no intention to force them in any way." I explained.

"Is that so? I think it is very mature of you to not try to force them, but if you are not interested in finding strong peerage members you should be strong enough to protect yourself." Grandma said.

After that, we talked some more about my interests and what I want to do, she said that she would help me in my path to be the strongest of the young devils (it is part of those missions of mine so any help is appreciated).

But an interesting thing is that she said I should find some hobbies. Her exact words were: "Find something to distract you, it is better than just training all the time. My disciples have their singing, so you should find something too."

"Oh, so they sing? I would love to hear their voices!" I said, earning a blushing Maria and a smirk from Chris.

"Ha, if you want to hear us singing you will have to beat us first! We can go two on two or you can choose who to fight." Chris said with confidence, she truly gives out the vibe of an energetic and direct child, if not a bit too direct.

"He will fight Maria as I would rather he not face your Ichaival any time soon, fixing the surroundings afterward is never something to look after for." Mom said before turning to Maria and saying. "I want nothing less than your best, understood?"

"Yes, Mom!" Maria said confidently.

Not long after we finished our meal and started walking to the outside.

There we found a relatively small battle arena, and I can tell it was this because there was a magic barrier to isolate it.

"You can start now, anything less than your absolute best is unacceptable. If I see any of you going easy there will be punishment." Grandma said with a stern voice.

Maria showed no hesitation as she said. "YES MOM!"

And with that she activated her sacred gear, it was a very... complex looking outfit. To start, the legs seemed to be made from this maroon colored futuristic Armor/boots that reached her thighs. Once there, they angled themselves so their outside ends went up to her hips, ending in these fin-like structures. Underneath, were these black stockings connected to these large straps that were connected to the main body. Said main body had a black Trench Coat with a skin colored bodysuit underneath shaped like a school swimsuit. It sported a wide V-like strap over the chest area, while the panties area was also black (though I refrained from looking there for any longer than necessary, even if my body hasn't reached puberty it still is embarrassing). The bodysuit covered everything else the Trench Coat didn't save for the legs and her head, covering her shoulders and going down her arms to these large black cuffs. Her hands were covered by black gloves with crimson fingertips, while her shoulders had mechanical-looking shoulder pads. Her Trench Coat had a high collar with a V-shaped neckline, held together by this pin-like accessory. Two horn-like structures protruded from her head, matching the maroon colors of her leg armor, while her ears were covered by some crimson metallic headphones.

She took a stance when she finished equipping her sacred gear and dashed at me with extremely high speeds. When she got close enough I reacted by slashing with my sword but her cape got in the way.

And boy oh boy was her cape sturdy. It was just like slamming into a reinforced steel wall, there's no way I can cut the cape like this. She did not let up as she started using her fists, legs, and cape to attack me faster and faster. I evaded quickly from her attacks, parrying those who I could not evade but it still was not going well at all.

'If this continues, I will lose' is what passed through my mind. To avoid that I started pumping the Touki on my body while also launching barrage after barrage of devil magic bullets. But she simply let her cape take the barrage while not letting up.

"Tch, SHINRA TENSEI." I said as I activated my technique to force her away from me.

She flew away, but she did not seem flustered or anything of the sort. She simply put her feet on the ground with strength and put her hands together, from there the forearms' protectors separated from her arms together. From those protectors, they reformed themselves and a spear surged.

Maria caught the spear in her hands, and I admit that my heart skipped a beat. I don't know why but her form right now just seems so much like a beautiful war goddess that she was radiant in my eyes.

"Get ready to feel the taste of mine GUNGNIR!" She shouted as the spear opened in two and from there a beam was launched.

"SHIT!" I exclaimed while evading said beam, but not the little rock that hit my side.

"Language." Grandma said as some rocks fluted in front of her.

Maria did not wait for me to recompose myself as her cape started twisting around her just like a tornado while covering her like a cocoon. I tried to cut said tornado but it was still useless, but if it is impossible from the ground I might as well go from the sky.

I opened my wings so as to position myself above her and fell on her with the sword first, however, when I was just about to hit her a small passage was opened and from there she trusted the spear hitting my side.

I jumped back already ready for her next strike, but instead of that she stopped and despite how she tried to show seriousness I could see the worry on her eyes. However, said worry was replaced by relief and then resolve when she saw that my wound was healing and that the fight was still going on.

Her spear then started twisting in her hands at high speed and when she moved it a hurricane followed her movements, I used my SHINRA TENSEI to push the winds away from my position but even then it was not comfortable. Especially since the moment, the wind ended and I stopped the technique she appeared on my back as she trusted the spear at me. She either teleported or used the wind as a 'smokescreen' to circulate around me without I noticed it.

She showed no hesitation as she tried to pierce my back, but I managed to evade by using Hweh to move to her side. Sword slicing right at her neck, but she stopped it easily enough by raising her spear just enough for it to get in the way.

I was no longer holding anything back. I started using everything in my power and then some more to fight, but she could answer and sometimes even suppress me all the way.

It was the best fight I had since, well, ever. No matter what we did we were equals in all aspects and while she had fewer techniques to use I think she was holding back something else the whole time.

Man, she is basically perfect!

The fight did not stop until both of us were on the ground, sweating profusely with smiles on our faces. The others watched everything agape, grandma continued looking sternly at us as if she thought we were barely passable.

"Hey!" I said to Maria.

"What?"

"Do you want to be my queen?" I asked. I don't know why I said that. Honestly, I should be trying to keep the queen piece for one of the Longinus users since I will need a Longinus user no matter what, but I just could not hold myself back. Call it a devil's instinct or whatever, but, for the first time in my life, I want someone with me no matter what.

"No." She said with no hesitation whatsoever.

* * *

 **Writer's Note:**

 **I will be closing the pool in the next few days, it will probably be out until Monday or Tuesday. Right now it is a tie between all four being CANON characters and one being OC and three being CANON.**

 **Also, in case you guys are wondering Maria, Chris and the Grandma are all from Senki Zesshou Symphogear. It is a weird show but I personally like, there are interesting fighting sequences and good music too.**

 **Also, I will be finishing this 'childhood arc' so to say next chapter where I also will be introducing another character that will be part of Joseph's peerage. I hope you guys enjoy it.**


	13. Chapter 13

"Do you want to be my-"

"I already told you over thirty times just this week, no. And no means NO!" Maria said huffing while running away.

It has been a week since I started living with grandma, and it has been quite good.

I've talked to Chris and Maria, trained with Solution and Lo'lo, spent time to learn advanced magic theories from grandma (she is a high ranking member of the mage council, how cool is that?), and started getting a few hobbies.

I've learned about gambling, painting, sports, sculptures, physics, game creation, playing video games from retro to modern styles, novel writing, and many other subjects. You could say that I took extreme advantage of how absurdly superior this body is and how naturally talented it is too.

But if I had to say the number one thing I did during this time, it would be.

"Are you sure you couldn't even consider accepting to be my que-"

"NO!" she cried out. A pillow hitting my face.

My number one thing I did was continuing in my pursuit of trying to convince Maria to accept her destiny!

It must be destiny, I refuse to let this go! I will convince her one day, I am positively sure of it.

"Still no, huh? Serves you right, you idiot! HAHAHAHAHA!" Chris taunted from the side.

She was passing by when she saw me running after Maria, again, and being rejected, again.

"Yeah, but this is just a matter of time! I decided that she shall be my queen and no one is gonna stop me. If you want I have some open slots on my peerage too if you ever want to join in." I told Chris.

After seeing her in action with her Sacred Gear, Ichieval, I can safely say that she is a beast in a Rating Game. Her Sacred Gear is an armor similar to Maria's but with a different design and red in color. The most interesting thing is that she specializes in wide-scale destruction as she can produce all different types of projectile weapons.

Originally it should be only possible to shoot arrows, but as a sacred gear is highly connected to the user's imagination it wasn't hard for her to change that to all sorts of military weapons. From handguns to giant missiles, she has it all covered.

Seeing that and how she handled it all I proposed for her to be a part of my peerage, and while she did not refuse me like Maria (but I WILL make her accept one of this days) she also did not agree. She said that she would like some time to think about it, sort of like it was for Entoma, Narberal, Mukuro, Solution, and Haineko.

"Ha, I still don't think so. Let's do it like this if you can prove that you are a decent guy then maybe I will accept." Chris said with a small laugh. "Oh, and you must come with us to the concert on Friday!"

"What concert?"

"Well DUH, I and Maria decided to go hiddenly watch an idol concert that will be happening close by. Mom did not want to go, but we still will go there anyway. You have to come or there is no chance of me accepting your invite!" She said and laughed at the end before running away.

A concert, huh? This could probably be interesting and I am sure that with this I will be one step closer to the amazing peerage I must have.

I also need to get strong enough to start searching for the Longinus users, and if I am not lucky enough I must prepare myself for stealing the Longinus from someone else.

Maybe I could kill Cao Cao and give his spear for Maria. I am sure she would like an amazing spear to match such an amazing person.

But this is the last resort since I currently have no idea on how to remove a sacred gear from someone, I would have to either learn it from Azazel or steal the method from the four idiots when they attack Issei.

Anyway, I still have work to be done. I must send my latest novel to the contest and also go and seeSolution since she has been down since she has been far from her friends for too long.

After mailing my first novel for the contest of novices I went for Solution's room.

KNOCK KNOCK

"Coming." Solution said before opening the door.

She was wearing a cute yellow dress with some frills on it. Noticing me sizing her up she looks bashful and gives a twirl as she says.

"How is it?"

"You are cute in this dress Solution, it gives you an innocent vibe that makes quite the contrast to your usual more flirtatious way of acting." I said.

"Who is the cutter? Me or Maria?" She asks while looking at me seriously.

"I am not sure from where this came from, but honestly I think she is a bit cuter." Solution looks down when I tell her that, shit I must make sure to not hurt her feelings. "Oh, but the difference is quite small and I also think you are unbelievably cute. You're cute, deadly, courageous, and sadistic. Despite how evil you are, you're very loyal. I think you're great just the way you are."

"Then why?"

"Huh?"

"Why don't you care if I accept to be part of your peerage?!" she cried out. "I've seen you running after Maria, asking and asking her throughout this week, yet you never show any care if I become a part of it! Am I too weak to join?! Too ugly?! Too filthy?! What's wrong with me?!"

I-I-I have no idea she that way. I was being considerate of her, but this reaction coming from her, I...I did not expect.

After her outburst, she paled like she committed a serious crime. Her angry and hurt expression quickly changed to regret and shame.

"I-I-I-I am so, so sorry for yelling at you, young master, this was never my intention. I am sure you have your reasons not to ask me, but please...please don't discard me! I-I-I don't want to throw out in the world! My species are despised everywhere, if they see me, they will kill me with no hesitation. If worse, I'll be forced into slavery! Please, please, please don't throw me away, I beg of you!" she cried, tears running down her face. She didn't stop there, she went to her knees. "PLEASE, DON'T DO THIS TO ME! PLEASE, DON'T!" As she was about to hit her head on the floor in full dogeza, I stopped her and patted her head.

"No, don't apologize. If anyone should be apologizing, it should be me. I'm so sorry for making you feel useless," I said softly. I helped her stand up and wiped her tears from her face. "I'm so sorry for not noticing how you felt from my ignorance. I didn't want to pressure you into joining my peerage because of your previous master's attitude towards you. When he was aggressive and brutal of how he obtained you, I didn't want to come across the same way that son of a bitch was to you. That's why, despite wanting you and the others to be in my peerage, I don't want to force you into my peerage, I want you to join by free will. But don't you ever, ever, EVER think that you are unwelcome here. We're friends after all," I finished. After my speech, she gave a tight hug, filled with love, welcome, and a desire to stay.

I hugged her back and we stayed like this for a while longer, unaware of a smiling cat watching us from behind the doors.

In the next morning, I had a new pawn, Solution accepted being part of my peerage and I swore to her to make sure that she would be safe and would always have a place to call home.

It was fun to see Solution walking with a skip on her feet while smiling openly, and even her provocative and superior glares at Maria and Chris were interesting to watch.

"I know you are happy, but remember that now that you are part of Joseph's peerage I want nothing less than exceptional behavior and capacity from you." Grandma said while sipping some tea.

"Hai, Nastassja-sama." Solution said with a respectful bow.

"And Joseph, it is not because you obtained a new peerage member that you must relax. You are my grandson and you must at the absolute least be amongst the top 10 of the rating games, otherwise, you will be shaming your bloodline." Grandma said with absolute seriousness.

"I understand, Nastassja-sama." I said.

"Good, always strive for going one step ahead and never accept something as good enough. Striving for more is what I and all the best humans in history have in common, and never forget that you too are part human." She said, and I nodded profusely at that.

Humanity is, in my personal opinion, the most extreme of all races. They have infinite potential for being absurdly powerful or pathetically weak, to be a saint as Saint Martha or as evil as Hitler or Stalin (interesting ideals, terrible executions).

There are some that mock me for having human blood, but I am honestly proud of having it. And while this will stop me from ever attaining True Form I still think it will help me grow strong enough that attaining this power would be meaningless.

After that, I talked some more with the others, asked Maria again to be my queen (she took 0,03 seconds longer to say no. Progress.), and overall had a good time. Following that was learning more advanced magic and trying to communicate with my sword some more.

I feel that I am just a tiny step away from managing it. Just one tiny step.

Now it was Friday and we 'escaped' from the house me, Maria, and Chris were on our way to the idol show in the nearby city.

"Wow, it is all so big." Maria said while looking around. Chris only nodded while I was unimpressed. This city was pretty big but compared to some of the cities in the underworld it was nothing. Especially if you compared it to the big cities on my family's territory.

"Anyway, we must get going. The show will begin soon and we must watch it no matter what!" Chris said excitedly.

Getting there we saw a place full of light. People were excitedly talking while waiting for the show to start, and it was plain to see that everyone wanted to see the show.

"Hey, whose show is this one? You two invited me but I have no idea of who is the singer." I asked the two girls beside me.

"Sheesh, you don't know even that? It is from Maizono Sayaka, the most popular idol right now on the entire world. Both me and Maria respect her a lot and we both love her songs, so don't go bad mouthing her understand you idiot." Chris said with Maria nodding timidly right behind.

"Okay okay, I will not bad mouth her or anything. I just never heard of her." I said.

"""WHAT!""" Three voices yelled at the same time… wait for a second, three?

When I and the girls noticed that detail we turned around to see who was the one odd out.

The one in question was a boy around 7 or 6 years old that clearly was not a symbol of health, if anything he looked like he could use some sun as he was just too pale. He has light grey-green eyes, and sickly pale skin. His hair is shoulder-length and naturally wavy, of an unnaturally pale off-white color that fades to white the closer to his scalp that makes me think it shouldn't belong to a living person. Also, he wears a knee-length dark green zipper hoodie with a jagged-cut tail. His hoodie has red squares across the right shoulder, and a large red '55' on the back. Underneath, he wears a white scoop-neck T-shirt with a red design on the front. He wears plain black jeans, and a wallet chain with a skull charm. Each of his brown shoes has two zippers.

"How can you possibly don't know her? This is Maizono Sayaka, someone who could be called the ultimate idol! She is a symbol of hope for the entire idol industry. How can you possibly not know her?!" He said heatedly. "But I suppose this is my luck, I just have to sit beside the one person that doesn't know her and could not possibly comprehend how amazing the singer here is. I guess this is retribution from winning the prize and getting free tickets." He continued with a depressed tone. But he quickly made a come back from this depression when he animatedly said. "Oh, did I forgot to introduce myself? My name is Komaeda Nagito, it is nice meeting you."

"It is nice meeting you too." I said to him shaking his hand.

After that, I and these three watched the concert happily, and while I myself did not know any of her songs I managed to get some parts right and sang together with the others.

I also noticed how Maria's eyes shined when she saw everything, the longing in her eyes was incredible, to say the least.

I turned to her and said.

"You can do it too, you know?"

She almost jumped away from how startled she was when I suddenly whispered in her ears.

"W-What are you talking about now?! Y-You don't know anything about me so don't go suddenly whispering in my ears." She almost yelled at me, but she managed to contain herself enough to not do that as she didn't want to draw attention to herself.

I smiled at this, I could see clearly that under all this shyness there is a fire of pride and strength in her. All she needs is confidence and she would be invincible.

"I know enough to be able to say that you can be even greater than her." I said pointing to the stage where Maizono Sayaka was singing. "You have an amazing voice and presence, you could definitely do it if you want."

"Yeah right, and how could I even get there? Just talent isn't enough, you need connections, talent, and confidence. I have none of those." She said.

"Not true." I said. "If it is about talent, you have more than enough. Your voice is perfect and you are definitely athletic enough to dance and do everything else that an idol should." She looks down a bit flustered when I said that. "And if it is about sponsors, I know of a friend of mine who would not mind helping you with this, even if just as a favor to me" Kasper did say he owes me and my family so I think he would not mind at all. "and my family does have considerable wealth here in the human world." It still isn't nearly as much as those from other noble houses, but my mother is a famous fashion designer and she has her own brand of clothes that is getting more popular by the day. Well, we also have started an, let's say, an aggressive takeover of many mafias and yakuza's groups so as to raise our finances further.

All controlled by Demiurge-sensei, a greater evil to control a smaller one so to say.

"B-But the confidence? I am to shy; I would never be capable of doing this no matter how much I might want to. I am just not that strong."

"Not true." I rebuked. "You have all the strength you will ever need, I've seen it. You have that something that makes others in awe for you."

"I am not so sure about this. I am always so afraid of everything, doing this is definitely beyond me. I would like to, but I can't."

"Then just don't be yourself." I said.

"Huh?"

"If you, as you are now, isn't strong, then pretend you are. Lie to the world if necessary, I just know that you will be able to do it."

"A-Are you sure?" Maria said with uncertainty.

"Positive, I know you can. You can trust me, I assure you that you can do it!"

"O-ok, I will try." she said.

"Good, you will be the most popular and amazing idol in the world while also being my queen! Isn't that awesome?!"

"No I will not be your queen!"

"Buh, what do I need to do to get you to accept?" I asked her.

"Hum~~," she put a finger in her chin as she started to think. after a while, she seemed to have reached a decision. "I know! If you can get to the top in all those hobbies you started I will accept this."

She is showing a confident smirk as she says this, like she expects me to fail and that she got free of my requests.

But, on my ears, that was just her way to tell me to wait a while longer. I know I can do it, I must reach the top in multiple areas at the same time, but I will not hesitate.

I will not let destiny to get away from me.

"I accept, I swear I will reach the top in all those areas." I said holding her hand in a firm handshake.

Chris was watching this all from the side with a smile while Komaeda is looking at this with eyes full of sparkles.

"Amazing, this is like watching the flowers of hope blossoming for the first time, such a magnificent sight. I can not believe that I was so lucky as to be able to watch this." He said excitedly, unfortunately, the man behind him tripped and fell down spilling his cup of milkshake all over Komaeda's head and clothes. He looks disinterested as he said. "*Sigh* And this was my favorite clothes too."

I could only sweat drop at this.

Is it truly just his luck that is this strange?

Huh?

Wait, I feel something strange from him, a sacred gear perhaps.

Interesting.

Seeing that I exchanged contacts with him, I don't know what it is or even if I will want him on my peerage or he will want to enter it, but leaving something like a sacred gear pass by is not something I would like to do.

"Then we agree? If you can reach the top in all those areas I will accept being part of your peerage, and at the same time I will try, no I will BE the most famous idol in the world." Maria said, already she was trying to show more confidence.

"Okay, we will both reach the top and you will be my queen when we get there." I said.

This will not be an easy path, but I am sure that I will manage it anyway.

I will reach the top.

I will be the number one!

* * *

Writer's Note:

I closed the pool and the winner is to have 3 CANON characters and 1 more OC.

I will work hard on choosing who to put as a character here, I do have some ideas and one of them will probably catch everyone unprepared as it is at the same time an important character and a totally unknown individual, but I do hope you will enjoy it.

Also, yes Komaeda Nagito, the Ultimate Luck Student from Danganronpa 2 will also be part of the peerage! I will lessen the amount of craziness in him, but do expect him to not be too well on the head, but don't worry he still has plenty of HOPE in him.

Next chapter will be a time-skip as I think this childhood went long enough.

Also, there will be plenty of changes to Sona's peerage and a few on Rias', but nothing too drastic on Rias and Sona's peerage always seemed to me almost as if they were just filler characters excluding Saji, Benia, Garou, and Tsubaki so do expect me to change the others.

Many will probably dislike my decision, but it is my decision to make and I hope that this gives more of a personality to Sona's peerage and give her a fighting chance against Rias' Peerage (no way she can face Joseph, Vali, or Sairaorg, those three are on their own class).


	14. Chapter 14

Sun, oh sun why are you such a bitch?

I wanted some time more for my work, so why did you have to rise again?

"Lord Joseph, it is time to get up." a voice said from the outside as a beautiful girl with around 16 years old entered the room. She is an elegant, snow-white skinned, black-pony tailed beauty. She currently is wearing a maid uniform that has plenty of details in steel and metal, it was specially designed for the purpose of raising her defense even when she was working.

"Okay, I am going already Nabe-chan." I told her, she is Narberal Gamma, one of my mutation pawns.

"Understood. Also, you have been invited to send your new sculptures to the art exposition next week in Milan." She said.

"Okay, but what about the results of the last popularity pools from my last game?" I asked as I started changing clothes after looking myself in the mirror, and I must say that my body looks like a bodybuilder one but a bit more lean and full of energy and vitality, a body that could be seen as close to perfection. And not to forget that I think I am most certainly not shabby on the looks department (choosing this body was most definitely NOT a mistake, the original Joseph G. Newton was called the perfect human for a reason after all).

One bad habit of growing up being so close to Rias is that I don't care if others see me naked, especially some of the girls that I have a more, let's say intimate relationship.

Well, not that he was into a relationship with all girls on his peerage, mind you, it was just that I am open about my body and do not care if others are looking.

Narberal, for instance, was not in a relationship with me at all. Her lover was someone else on his peerage.

"Oh, I think my luck must be a truly wonderful thing if I can still wake up for the amazing sight of my most favorite person in the world and the number three too. How incredibly lucky." Komaeda said as he entered the room when I finished changing clothes.

Yep, Komaeda Nagito, my only bishop (and a mutation type no less).

After knowing him at that concert years ago we started talking some more, and after a while, I decided to invite him to my peerage. To say he accepted the invite instantly would be an underestimation, he practically jumped at the piece when I showed it to him.

I had explained to him about the supernatural world long ago and he was entranced by my stories. He said something about how it was a whole new world of talents waiting for him to find out.

Oh and he idolatries me, probably due to the fact that I have been quite busy these last few years.

Since that bet, I have been working hard to get to the top in all those areas, and I have been quite successful so far.

I've already managed to get a few of my sculptures and paintings on THE Louvre, have won multiple contests of playing videogame, managed to clean the house in some of the casinos in Vegas, including the underground ones where I competed multiple times with the Queen of Liars Celestia Ludemberg (I almost invited her to be part of my peerage as a pawn but she suddenly said she have been approached by someone else and I never saw her again, a same as she was one of the few persons who could challenge me on gambling), have managed to help develop some new theories about string theory that are now only waiting for actual experiments to prove or disprove but are extremely promising, and have even managed to make a line of clothes that is almost as popular as mother's.

But my most prized point would have to be in spots. I have competed and won a competition in the decathlon during the Olympics last month. It was hard but very fulfilling time as I put repressors on myself so as to not allow my devil nature interfere with the results.

From my objectives, I am only missing the book writing and the game development, and then Maria will finally accept my request to be my glorious queen!

Haaa~~, she is amazing. During this time she has also progressed amazingly, she has managed to get to become a world-renowned idol. She is considered amongst the most amazing girls in the world, and this is not just by me.

"How is your training on controlling your sacred gear coming along?" I asked Komaeda.

"Oh, it is not going too great hope-sama." Sigh, why did I let him start calling me hope again? He is just too insistent on his decisions and his focus on thinking I am the 'symbol of hope of the world' or some crap like that makes it hard for me to deny him. "I suppose it was to be expected that someone so lowly as I that only has his sacred gear with him but still managed to be on the middle of all these amazing people would be a failure at the only thing I should be good at. *SIGH* To know I am disappointing you in fully controlling Tellos Karma, I really am no good."

Yep, he has one of the Longinus, to be more specific it is Telos Karma, the Ultimate Karma. It is one of the lower class Longinus due to its low killing potential, but it doesn't mean it is useless. Quite the opposite.

It is basically the control of luck, of the chance. Teorically he could make a good so unlucky that he dies in some bizarre accident quite easily. But Komaeda is quite far from that level, he can't control his sacred gear at all. Thanks to that he suffers from bouts of extremely good luck followed by bad luck, sometimes the bad luck goes to others and sometimes for himself.

Strangely enough, the target of bad luck is usually Caesar. I lost count of the number of times a bird pooped on him or he was hit by a truck.

Anyway, at least he now can control the bad luck enough to put preferences on who to inflict the bad luck, which usually is the perverted trio in the school.

To say that Nagito loathes and despises the three is like calling the sun center's warm. He despises the three since those three started spreading rumors about me and started talking shit about me and the others behind my back, and the situation got worst when he heard they commenting about Maria and a few other girls and how they thought of them while they were 'playing with themselves'.

He knows how I feel about some of those girls and amongst those he talked about there was Narberal too.

They were lucky that the bus that nearly ran them over missed them by a few centimeters. Or the fact that the computer containing all their pornography exploded when they were not there.

They suffered quite a bit with that last one.

At least this experience helped him in controlling his gear more, now all he needs is a little more for him to have his balance breaker and fully controlling his gear.

And one good thing is that thanks to adding him to the peerage I received a new prize, a new soul-connected weapon, a ring on my finger. It isn't as strong as my sword and connecting with it is much harder and I can only use it in full body release, but it is a whole new weapon that I keep hidden from others. Another bad side of this new soul weapon is that it is impossible for me to reach the second release with it as the fragent of my soul inside is not big enough and I don't think it is even possible to make it any greatter, but the facts remain that this will work as a secret weapon if I ever need it.

"My lord, it is time for breakfast." Narberal said and then she started leaving the room, but before she left the premises she put her hand forward and caught the back of Komaeda's hoodie and dragged him outside. He smiled the whole time as he was treated roughly, he is quite a bit of a masochist after all and being treated like that by his lover is just about what he would like.

Seeing them act like this put a smile on my face, these two get along in a strange but beautiful way.

Now, time for breakfast. Today it was supposed to be Haineko-chan's turn, right?

Entering the dining hall I could see my peerage already sitting down. Some of them were uncomfortable with sitting to eat with me, but I put a stop to this nonsense and said that they should eat with me at least when there were no guests.

As I sat down I said my hellos for everyone and then started looking at them.

Mukuro looks very nice now compared to when we first met. She now has 1,7 meters of height and well-trained muscle, but the type that makes her fit instead of masculine in any way. She has short black hair, freckles on her face that give her a more young appearance, light purple eyes, and a model figure. Sometimes I ask her to work for me as a model and she makes an excellent one, but she generally puts contacts and a blond wig when she does that as she thinks this makes her more beautiful. I disagree as I prefer her for who she is, but she was adamant about it so I just let it be.

She ended up requesting to be part of my peerage last month, it was right after her sixteenth birthday, the date that would be the end of our contract and that she could leave my house. She ended up really liking here and said she did not want to leave, so she ended up as one of my pawns AND one of the girls on my harem (even if she sometimes likes to do some S&M stuff that leaves me a bit uncomfortable, I am not a fan of humiliation play that she seems to enjoy receiving). She is my only 'normal' pawn, but honestly, she could probably kill most queens without a single problem or scratch in her body.

Besides her is Pekoyama Peko. She is a tall, young woman, who wears a black/dark turquoise schoolgirl uniform with a red tie or ascot. Her skirt is somewhat short and she wears dark tights underneath it with white loafers. She has long, silver hair that she ties up into two braids on either side of her head with white ribbons securing each braid at the top, and two red ties to hold each braid together at the bottom. Her eyes are also bright red. Peko also wears thin framed rectangular glasses.

She is constantly seen carrying her shinai (bamboo sword) around with her in a dark turquoise sheath/wrap with a silver/white design on the back. The shinai has a metal katana blade hidden at the center of its bamboo wrappings, which Peko likely uses when protecting and hunting people on my orders.

Currently, she has won every single sword contest she ever entered, she is the idol of the kendo club, heck she is the idol of ALL female kendo clubs in Japan. Also, she is one of the members of my harem.

On the other side of Mukuro is Chris. She is one of the rooks that I have, she has been since she is ten, the same age that I left grandma's house.

She is a short girl with purple eyes and long lavender hair that falls to her knees, separated into twin-tails that further split into three curly strands each, and an ahoge. She has a not so athletic build but she is well endowed enough, she also is a great singer and while she isn't a professional it is mostly because she did not want to follow Maria's footsteps.

On the other side of the table was Solution, and she was gorgeous. She is a tall, buxom young woman with blonde hair styled into drills at the ends of her bangs, and deep blue eyes. She wears a very skimpy maid outfit (black headpiece included) that clings to her form, enhancing her curves in all the right places with the skirt barely reaching below her thighs. The skirt also has a slit on the right side, showing what was otherwise uncovered, while the shoulders were puffed up and her arms were covered with black bicep-length gloves with silver cuffs. Her legs were covered by black nylon stockings, with silver thigh-high armored high heeled boots.

Besides her was Caesar, my pawn. He has very long, spiky, black hair, brown eyes, and two curly horns growing from the back of his head. He is rather tall, wears purple lipstick and dark makeup on his eyes. He has a small flat nose and long thin eyebrows. His arms are very thin in comparison with to rest of his body.

Caesar wears a big light blue colored coat with "GAS" printed in pink on each side. Under his coat, he wears a pair of diagonally striped yellow overalls which are striped cross with orange lines.

He has grown to be feared on the underworld due to his inventions and chemical weapons of mass destruction that he loves to create, but even without them he still is a force to be reckoned with as he is one of the strongest members of my peerage and an especially deadly one.

I still remember the last invasion from demons, it wasn't that many who came that time as it was just the typical raid on my family's territory for food and slaves. I and my peerage went there and while I, Lo'lo and Peko managed to fight a lot of strong opponents the others couldn't since Caesar alone killed over 200 of them using his poisonous gas. It is true that the ones killed were the weaklings, but it still was plenty impressive.

"Shuololololo, Joseph-sama you are just the man I wanted to talk with. I have been working tirelessly on a new project but the funds ran dry, would it be possible for you to send me more money? It is all for science." He said.

I turned to Solution and asked.

"Do you know what he spent the money on?"

"Yes my Lord, I've checked the registry and around half of it was spent on illegal booze and contracting many succubi for him to enjoy." She said trying to hold her laughter when she looked at Caesar's face as he yelled.

"How did you know?!"

"Because Joseph-sama asked me to check up on you to make sure of what you spend your funds on." she said.

I ended up laughing and waving this off. I didn't care if he did that once in a while, but I told him that he would have to work with a tighter amount of funds at least until the experiment showed results.

On the other side of Solution is Haineko, she became a curvaceous woman with turquoise eyes, olive-colored skin, and chin-length maroon hair, which is styled into two cat-like ears at the top and frames Haineko's face with several long bangs. She has pink fur covering her forearms, her pelvis, her feet, her left leg, and most of her upper torso. She has a tuft of white fur covering her neck and extending down to the middle of her chest, and there is a ring of white fur around her right thigh. She has a long, pink tail and claw-like nails.

She is the most well-endowed woman in my peerage, beating Solution by a difference of less than3 centimeters but she still likes to show off the fact she is bigger. And it just so happens that she is my pawn and the one who took away my first time, no regrets there I assure you. It was her first true mating period and she could not hold herself, I honestly was fine with that as afterward I accepted being in a more serious relationship with her.

By my side is Entoma, my sweet and cute little sister. She is a petite young girl with purple hair styled like spider legs, red eyes, wore a kimono that seemed several sizes too large for her, red tights and black shoes. Its uniform looks similar to the ones used by the typical Japanese maids, just a bit darker overall. But for me, she still looks freaking cute.

"Lil sis, what you are eating there?" I asked her.

"Meat. Stray's." She says as she finished eating, she even released a small blurt afterward. It may seem strange, but it was simply part of her physiology that she has a diet that is composed mostly of meat. I allowed her to eat the stray devils and demons we kill as they would at least serve a purpose this way besides helping us train our skills on their bodies.

I guess the fact that my peerage is known as the one that you should NEVER mess around with amongst the young devils makes sense.

The last one in the table was Phillufy. She has grown a LOT, she has a childish face that makes an extreme contrast to her body that is just as well endowed as Solution or Haineko, but her looks even bigger due to the fact that she has a small frame, also they do feel pretty good to fondle, quite good indeed, probably the softest of my peerage (not that I have touched some of them of course, I only touch those who I am in a relationship with). Her hair is still on the same way as before but now she hides all traces of her dragon heritage so as to mix better with the other humans. Currently, she is one of the three mascots in the school, just beside Entoma and Koneko (Shirone's new name, chosen to mark how she no longer was the same as before).

"Hey, where is Lo'lo?" I asked as I started to eat.

"Like you don't know it already, idiot." Chris said while eating. If it was someone else calling me an idiot I know some of the people here would have reacted badly, especially Komaeda as he is someone with a few loose screws on the head, but everyone here knows that calling others idiot and being offensive in general is just how Chris is.

And we also know that she is a huge softy on the inside anyway.

"*Sigh* So he went out on a long date again? If he takes too long and makes Sakura be late Sona will want to strangle me." I said.

Lo'lo too has found himself a girlfriend, one of Sona's rooks, Sakura Ogami. She is quite the good girl, and while she is undoubtedly a good person she also is someone that most would not be able to date at all.

She is, after all, a world-renowned fighter that is known as the ultimate martial artist. And that was BEFORE she turned into a devil. I remember that during a competition of martial arts we two fought and I can safely say that if I wasn't a devil she would have defeated me 6 seconds tops.

She is basically made of so many muscles that she earned the nickname The Ogree, and Lo'lo loves it. His race likes to seek strong partners and she fit in that category no doubt.

Speaking of Sona, her peerage on this world is quite different and honestly much scarier. On CANON, excluding Saji and Tsubaki the others looked like cannon fodder at best and forgettable at worse, but on this world, the members are quite different and they are much more interesting and strong, to say the least. Especially her mutation pawns and rooks, they are true and utter monsters when it comes down to fighting and they do equal my own peerage members when it comes down to power.

Rias too has a peerage that already is different from her CANON counterpart as she now had two mutation pawns and her mutation bishop, she already has one different individual in her peerage. Her second rook, Gonta Gokuhara, a nice man that likes to help others as much as possible, he also is dating Entoma with my seal of approval.

And for me to give my seal of approval for ANYONE to date this little sister of mine means that he TRULY is a good guy, a gentleman so to say, but I did warn him that if he dared to make my lil sis sad in any way whatsoever I WILL remove his spine, shove it up his ass, and use him as a cub to smack an entire mountain to small pieces before burning whatever was left of him.

You know, brother stuff.

He only smiled and said 'Okay, if Gonta no gentleman Gonta deserves it'.

Like I said, a gentleman to the core. Besides, no one can dislike the guy, it is like disliking a teddy bear made out of cotton candy and that can heal AIDs and all other diseases in the world just by existing. No one can hate that unless ou are a total ass.

"Anyway, us there any other news?" I asked no one in specific.

"There was a new challenge from Vali, it is the third time this month." Solution said.

Vali has continued his battle junkie tendencies, but now he has a whole peerage full of battle junkies with him.

It is mostly the same as his original team in CANON, which means it is more than strong enough.

And as he grew up close to me he now sees me as a rival, which means that he challenges me every chance he got. He said that the only shame is that I am not the sekyriutei otherwise it would truly be perfect.

Hopefully, Issei manages to grow strong enough fast enough or Vali might actually try to involve Issei's family, he is just that impulsive after all and for him all that matters is a good fight and perhaps Kuroka and his Queen as he is dating both as far as I know.

"Fine, who want to come this time around?" I asked as I finished my meal.

"I would like to go, it has been a while since I last fought that intolerable pussycat." Haineko said.

Her relationship with Kuroka is still awful.

"I would like to go too, but I have practice for the kendo national finals tonight. I am immensely sorry young lord!" Peko said bowing her head with a very sad expression, she does considers me her first priority but I also ordered her to try and live a bit outside of just serving me so she probably is torn between what to do. She does tend to overcomplicate the obvious.

"I guess I could go, not that I think a worthless existence that the only talent is being lucky has any place in such an amazing fight, but if my presence can help I would gladly be your stepping stone any time." Komaeda said.

"Tch, if we weren't here in the human world I would go." Chris said with an irritated snarl.

The others were not interested in even saying anything, so it was decided that I, Komaeda, and Haineko were the ones that would go.

I wonder how it will go down.

Anyway, it is time for school, so we all changed clothes and left from the house. Haineko turned herself into a cat to rest upon my shoulders so as to not draw attention, she would walk around during class as she did not like to even be near the school during class time.

* * *

Approaching school I started hearing some of the fangirls screaming the name of me and Peko while looking with disgust to Caesar and Komaeda. Caesar because he was caught trying to spy on the girls changing clothes almost as many times as the perverted trio and Komaeda because, well he is Komaeda. The whole aura around him makes others afraid of being anywhere close to him and his self-depreciation added to the fact he is together with Narberal who is considered one of the prettiest girls in the entire school REALLY isn't helping his case. There are even some who say he is blackmailing her, not that it is true but it still is a rumor on the school.

Anyway, as soon not long after we entered the school a hulking man approached.

He is a very tall and muscular teenager with tanned skin. He has a noticeably angular face and very long, messy brown hair, with noticeable prominent curls at the top of his head that resemble ahoges. He has red eyes and wears round glasses.

"Gonta happy is to see you all." He says when he gets close to us, and while his appearance suggests otherwise he is probably one of the nicest persons here. "Gonta wanted to meet you Ento-chan." He says to Entoma before giving her a hug.

It was quite a weird scene for most, like watching the incredible hulk hugging a normal person due to the difference in size. But I do know that he is someone that truly likes her and, despite how weird it may seem, I was happy when I saw the two together, but I did tell him to NOT kiss her in front of me.

No brother likes seeing his younger sister getting kissed, at the very least I hate it very much so.

After the hug, he kept holding her hand when he turned to me and said.

"Gonta sorry for outburst just now. Gonta just too happy for seeing Ento-chan so Gonta lost focus, but Gonta gentleman so Gonta will tell you why came here. The Buchou asked me to tell you to go see her." He said.

I nodded to him and gave my goodbyes to the others that would go to other rooms, it was close to the time for class so they all headed to their own classrooms.

Caesar, Solution, Narberal, Komaeda, Lo'lo, and I study in the same class so I asked them to go first and note down anything they think important.

And so I started walking to the occult research room in the old school building.

In the way, I noticed that the gym was opened and decided to take a look. Inside were Lo'lo and Sakura fighting it out, these two idea of a romantic date.

Both looked like bodybuilders with how much muscles they had, but Sakura looked to have even more than him especially with that large scar cutting across her face. These two put an illusion around the gym to make the normal students now notice what is happening, a normal trick that Sakura learned long ago from Sona.

Just looking at them and how there are blasts of wind and tremors on the earth as they exchange punches and kicks makes me realize that I am not equal to them in physical strength at all, probably the only ones amongst the younger devils that can match them are Nidai (Sona's peerage another rook), Gonta, me, and Sairaorg. We just have way too much physical strength (well, I need to release the full body version of the first level of my sword to get to that level, or using the full capacity of the Black Heaven and Earth techniques but that is something I avoid as much as possible).

Anyway, I left the two there to their fight and walked to the Old School Building.

This place gives me the creeps, not because of it being terrifying or scarry, but because it looks awful.

Since I started working with so many art related things my sense of aesthetics got really high so looking at somewhere like this makes me want to demolish the whole thing and build it again from the ground up. Maybe a few paintings and sculptures to give a better vibe to it all, but Sona was adamantly against my wonderful idea.

Tch.

Anyway, I entered the place and went straight to the room of the club.

Entering there I see Rias sitting down in all her glory. Don't get me wrong, I know I already am with plenty of gorgeous women but I still see her as being just too beautiful to ignore.

After exchanging glances for a while she stood up and walked to me.

"The time is coming," she said. "Riser is pressuring for the marriage to happen faster, will you really help me?" She asked looking at me straight in the eyes.

"Yes, of course, I will." I told her instantly, making her release a small breath that she was holding. "I told you right, that I would not let this farce proceed. After all," I pulled her into an embrace. "how could I let someone else take away one of my women." I then took her cherry lips in mine.

She did not struggle in any way, she just kissed back as we stayed like that.

She was Rias Gremory, a girl I know since young and a woman that one day I shall take as my wife!


	15. Chapter 15

After the hug and make out session, which was awesome by the way, I and Rias enjoyed a moment alone. We sat together on a sofa, enjoying each other's company as well as the tranquil silence of the Occult Research Club Clubroom. The atmosphere, which many would call eerie thanks to the lack of light and the candles, actually soothed me since I have been exposed to this so many times.

Though, my thoughts quickly became grim as I hold this hot, sexy woman. She has been a mountain of nerves the more the date of the marriage approached. She hated the very idea of marrying Riser, she can't stand him since she met the guy. Not that I blame her, that guy was a freaking asshole. Seriously, what kind of parenting did he receive, the spoiled brat treatment? Did the family decided to put all their crap and trash in one spot and called the pile 'son'? Riser would SERIOUSLY benefit from someone like Grandma (I miss her already, and it hasn't been that long since I last saw her) teaching him, maybe then he would learn the meaning of humility.

Besides, in the end, Rias ended up liking me, which is great since I too fell for her as we spent more and more time together.

We were true childhood sweethearts and I doubt I have passed even two weeks straight without meeting her. And yes this includes the three years I spent in grandma's house. She was one of the only people that I said where I truly was, I also warned a few of my friends like Vali, Aura, and Mare, but that is beside the point. I wanted to let Ravel know too, but I know better as she already was turned into Riser's bishop and unfortunately, she was a natural blabbermouth. She would tell Riser where I was as she does love her family (love is bling and family love must be deaf as well if anyone can stand his presence) and I have no doubt that he would inform those who wanted me to harm in hopes of getting me killed.

A mutual feeling as I would take a chance of killing him in a heartbeat, cleaning the world of dirt and all that.

My relationship with Rias is a secret and must remain as such, we could not let anyone that wasn't of absolute confidence know as it would be quite the scandal as she is the fiancee of MY fiancee's family. That would potentially ruin not only the reputation of our families but also possible destabilize the new-Satan faction as the Phoenix clan may try to change sides because of this. And while their military might is meager, to say the least, they have plenty of funds and the Phenex tears on their side, losing either of those would be too big of a blow to the new-Satan faction.

I know this and Rias knows this, but neither of us could avoid liking one another.

"I, I don't know what to do." she told me while in the hug. She has been a pile of nerves for quite a while now as she feared this marriage about as much as I feared facing Rizevin right now, I am not ready at fucking all. At most I am around higher than Kokabiel by some degrees, and facing Rizevin now is nigh impossible as he dwarfs Kokabiel easily and not to forget that he can negate my healing.

Anyway, I know that I must avoid intervening with this marriage matter as much as I possibly can due to politics and the needing to train plus gather the strongest peerage possible, but doing nothing is impossible. If I did nothing, then odds were that Rias would lose (like in CANON, I may have accidentally 'hinted' that she was to do some extra training growing up so I'd say that she was a quarter of my level at this point. She once thought of using Riser as a test dummy, and while the image is hilarious I put a stop to this plan as she would lose the element of surprise if she revealed what she can do).

"Ri-chan, don't worry. I will help you no matter what you might need, even if you want to try that healing technique you offered when we were younger." I said with a teasing smile.

And that did the trick as she disengaged from the hug and weakly punched my chest in mocking annoyance as she pouted and said. "You know that I had no idea what I was talking about! So why did you bring it up?!" She continued giving me those weak punches.

Honestly, it just seemed more adorable, and like I said, there was a weakness in those punches. I smiled and gently grasped her fists in mine. "Calm down, if you want we can go make a trip later if that will make you feel any better."

She raised an eyebrow and asked. "A trip? Where?" She knows that I travel around the world all the time due to how many things that I do.

"I was invited to make an exposition in Milan later during the weekend, we could make this a romantic getaway if you want." I offered.

She pretended to be still angry, but her eyes started to shine a bit from my words. Well, it seems it is time to bring out the big guns. "Or we can go to Akihabara for the launching of my latest game."

And that did the trick.

She almost jumped at me all over again when I offered that, but this time instead of sadness in her all there was was excitement. She was a lost cause when it came to do with anything anime related. She is an otaku after all, I remember how she jumped in absolute joy when I gave her the first edition of my latest game that wasn't even in the market yet. The thank you kiss was nice too.

Anyway, after that I simply talked to Rias for a while more.

"So? How is the peerage member hunting going?" I asked.

"Not that well, I still have quite a few vacant positions on my peerage including the two mutation pawns, I do have a few options that I was thinking about but I still haven't approached them. *SIGH* Why is it so hard to get some good members when I need them?" She answered frustratedly.

"At least you have Gonta, Akeno, and Koneko. These should be plenty enough to you to win against Riser, weakling that he is." I said.

"Isn't you forgetting someone?" she asked making me irk a bit.

I don't have a great relationship with Kiba as he is a bit different in this world. To imagine him you only need to visualize Sasuke with all his revenge and edge, then multiply it by ten and remove any and all of the cool powers.

He still tries to keep a good appearance to others and portraits himself as a perfect person while not being like that in person at all. The excessive fakeness annoys me, I prefer those who are honest about themselves even if evil. I myself am quite honest, most of the time at least.

At least I can be honest until the s need to not be anymore, I didn't clean the house on Vegas being a bad liar.

And you know the worst part? He said that Maria was overrated and that he thought she was only on the top of the hits because of the support from HCLI. After that tidbit, Rias had to hold me down or I would have murdered his shinny ass. No one messes with my future queen, NO ONE.

Anyway, I just hope his teenage angst avenger crap ends after the whole Excalibur thing is completed. Satan knows that dealing with him now is the textbook definition of a pain in the ass.

"Anyway, and you? How is your look for new members going?" Rias asked.

"Not too well. Right now all I have left is two mutation pawns, one rook, and one knight and I have no idea on who to add on these vacancies. There aren't that many people who I am interested in right now." I admitted.

My objective demands a strong peerage since I NEED to be the number one amongst the young devil's gathering.

If this was like CANON DxD then I wouldn't be worried since my peerage is just that strong as it is, but in this case, the peerage from the others are definitely stronger than originally already.

I would like to look at this matter and complete my peerage before the time of the competition by all means.

"Hey, do you have any plans for after school?" I asked.

"Not particularly." Rias said. "I would just go do some contracts later tonight."

"Well, how about instead of that you come with me to see a battle between me and Vali? It should be more interesting than completing those nonsensical small contracts that you do."

She was torn between accepting my proposal and pouting at me for my words.

Due to how many things I do I can be called a celebrity worldwide so I decided long ago to only do a contract when they are big enough.

Want help in rescuing your child that was kidnapped? I am in. Want help playing video games or receiving a massage after a stressful day of work? Go fuck yourself.

I only do things this way, which annoys Rias since I only work once in a while and still beat her total amount of reward easily.

I think my last contract was last month when I was contracted to take some secret documents through a war zone. It was fun to avoid bullets while carrying the documents in a paste. I even took advantage of my situation and distributed some leaflets of summoning around there in case anyone wanted to escape that place no matter what.

I am no saint, but I would not mind helping those who actually took a step forward to ask when they truly needed. Maybe bring these people to a safer country with some fake IDs so as to allow them to live there. Obviously, I would demand some amount of payment later on, but it would be still within an acceptable margin and it was safer than most other methods.

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to go watch it." She said. "Oh, and I almost forgot. Do you know anything about those fallen angels that appeared in town last night?"

"WHAT? Fallen Angels appeared HERE? Why am I only hearing about it now?" I said startled.

This was earlier than I expected. I thought I still had at least one more month before the CANON DxD started, shit!

I still am missing over four pieces and the fact things are starting means I must hurry it up as not long after dealing with these four weaklings it would be Riser, who was also a weakling to me, and then the shitstorm.

Kokabiel.

Peace Treaty.

Hero Faction in Kyoto.

Chaos Brigade.

FUCKING OPHIS!

I don't even want to imagine facing against most of them as I am now.

I need to complete my peerage as soon as possible, or I will die.

SHIT!

After my little panic attack I calmed down, I talked to Rias some more and said I would not intervene until someone gets hurt.

It was the best I could do as this city is under Rias and Sona's direct supervision. I am only allowed here because I am friends with both of them.

All hail Nepotism!

Anyway, I finished the talk with Rias and headed to class. We were only one or two minutes late so there probably wouldn't be any problem.

"YOU!" a male dressed in a white uniform (he was allowed that one as a special case) yelled from the other side of the hall while approaching fast. "You two know that the classes start at 9:00 AM so you two are one minute and thirty-two seconds late! This is unacceptable!"

Looking at this boy I could only release a tired sigh.

"I know, sorry Kyotaka. But you should know that the more time you spent here talking to use the more we will be late."

"That is right! So you two should hurry up! But no running in the corridors! As a member of the student council, I cannot ignore bad behavior!" He said before turning around to leave.

The man is Kiyotaka Ishimaru, one of Sona's peerage members. He is a mutation pawn (one of three mutation pawns that she has) and a real pain in the ass for everyone. He is the textbook definition of what a perfect student should be like, which was one of the main reasons why Sona decided to call him to her peerage. Well, that and the fact that he is quite powerful in his own right.

Satan knows that she needs some that are actually like him on her peerage as her's peerage members are quite a bit more, let's say colorful, on this universe if compared to the ones from CANON.

Anyway, after meeting him I went to my classroom.

It was also a very noisy place, which I believe is inevitable considering those who are here.

Lo'lo, Caesar, Solution, Komaeda, Narberal, Rias, Akeno, Sona, Tsubaki, Nidai (Sona's rook), Gonta (Rias' rook), Mikan (Sona's bishop), and Togami Byakuya (Sona's second mutation pawn). This class is what can be described as one big mess of strong personalities, but it is a fun mess anyway.

As the classes ended I decided that it was time to go see Vali.

We had agreed that whenever we would fight it would always be the one challenged that would decide the location of the fight.

I decided that a fight on an abandoned sector of a neighboring town should do the trick. While it was true that this still counted as the Japanese faction's territory I knew some of them already and got permission to use these empty places whenever I needed as long as I did not cause any large-scale destruction. Though, considering who I was fighting I'm surprise none of that had happened already.

By the time I arrived, I saw that my opponent had already beaten me here, though that definitely didn't seem all that surprising. After all, only ONE of us thought it foolish to go to school and that CERTAINLY wasn't me.

One guess who that was.

"Took you long enough." Vali remarked irritably, crossing his arms over his chest while giving me the stink eye. Though, I mostly ignore this thanks to having known the guy for so long. When it came to their fights, Vali NEVER had much patience for outside matters. Remember in the anime and novels how he threatened to 'dispose' of Issei Hyoudou's parents at the peace treaty of the three factions? Yeah, well, think of that but then apply steroids and any type of enhancement drug.

Yeah, suffice to say that this guy had NO patience for those things.

"Sorry, sorry, I am not like someone here who doesn't go to school so I had to wait until the end of the classes." I answered, shrugging my shoulders nonchalantly. While I didn't make an extreme show of it, these battles always tend to excite me. More than I would ever admit. I guess growing up knowing the guy had influenced me somewhat.

Though Vali's influence made me somewhat of a battle maniac too, though FAR from Vali's level. Plus, my grandma, mother, and father made sure I learn how to control that side of me once they noticed it (grandma noticing first by the way). It wouldn't do for the heir to the Barbatus family to be a battle maniac who would challenge everyone left and right, it would damage their image.

A derisive snort escapes the grey-haired teen's lips while he looks at me with disgust. Though, not me personally but at the 'outside matters' which dared interrupt or stall their battle. Like I said, battle maniac. "And THAT is why I told you that school is for suckers." Vali said.

I rolled my eyes at him. He is someone that would fit right in on a wuxia novel, for him if you are strong enough everything else doesn't matter at all. He is this type of annoying. Thinking of wuxia Novels, maybe I could start reading some on my own time. I remember reading them back home in my free time, when I didn't have anything else to do, which wasn't that normal.

"Anyway, I brought with me Haineko-chan and Komaeda-san." I said to Vali. "And who did you bring?"

"Tch, that is why I said you are half-assed sometimes." He said. "I brought everyone, except for Gogmagog since he would be a hassle here." Yep, he basically has the same team he had in canon as a peerage right now. LeFay is a bishop, Arthur is a knight, Biko is a rook, Kuroka is a mutation bishop, and Gogmagog is a mutation rook, but a difference is that he also has Lavinia Reni, the user of the Longinus **Absolute Demise** as a Queen. He met her on a trip to the magician council after hearing my advice to learn everything he could. He still hasn't found anyone for one knight and the pawns position but he still is widely considered amongst the top 3 of the young devils in peerage and personal power (the top being me, him, and Sairaorg, we have no idea on who is actually the number one). "Anyway, if there are just these two then I think I will only use Kuroka and LeFay."

I nodded in agreement, that arrangement seemed mostly fair. Call him whatever you please, but Vali did have SOME form of honor as a fighter. This was just one of those instances.

"So let's get started." I state, beckoning him as Komaeda and Haineko approached. At the same time, LeFay and Kuroka also came close. The level of tension in the air began to increase as everyone began glaring at each other, each one focusing on a single person on the opposite team. One could tell whom I was looking at, it was so obvious.

"You are going down old hag." Kuroka said to Haineko in a very confrontational tone, cracking her knuckles while her eyes became increasingly cat-like. I wouldn't be surprised if there was any hissing involved, either.

The feelings were mutual, though, thanks to Haineko's response. "I am just one year older than you and you know it." Haineko responded offhandedly, while taking out her sacred gear. "And I don't want to listen to the words of some flat chested bimbo like you."

THAT ticked the black haired woman off as evident by the tick marks on her forehead. "I am just a little smaller than you and you know it!" Kuroka shouted while she created a magic circle.

Whilst those two prepared for the most literal personification of a catfight (something many horny guys would LOVE to see) Lefay tried to be the more cordial of the Vali Team, offering a sincere bow which consisted of her lowering her head and holding her Staff horizontally in her hands by her skirt. "I hope that we will have a good fight, Joseph-sama, and his group." LeFay said.

However, it couldn't be said that my other teammate aside from Haineko appreciated the gesture, as his eyes narrowed into a furious glare in the Magician's direction. "I might be just a stepping stone for those who truly are deserving of being the supreme ones, but to hear you say that you will fight against my master, hope itself, is unacceptable no matter the circumstances! Learn your place, you extra." Komaeda said with a glare.

The threatening edge to his words, combined with the dark energy he released, quickly caused the Magician to shoot upright, a look of panic on her features with sweat flying from her brow. She made a response while waving her hands up and down. Kind of cute to be honest, but Lefay was just that type of girl. "I am so sorry, I didn't mean to sound presumptuous just now." LeFay quickly apologized, but Komaeda's glare still continued.

Now that they were dealt with (as in taking opposite sides of the battlefield so as to not 'get caught up' in our fight for survival's sake) I step towards my opponent with my battle maniac side acting up. I grip the hilt of my sword with the corners of my lips upturning slightly, my eyes shining with challenge towards my opponent. "Ready?" I asked Vali.

In response, Vali smirked eagerly as he activated his Sacred Gear, Divine Dividing. They manifested in a flash of bluish-white light, illuminating the area briefly before they formed and settled on his back. They constantly released a steady stream of sparkles from their blue blade-like webbing, yet I couldn't look at that for long since Vali exploded into motion, darting towards me with a wild look in his eyes.

He opened his mouth mid charge and yelled one word that made me spring into action.

"GO!"

With that one word, shit got real. With reflexes honed after years of training, I drew my sword instantly with an 'SCREEEE!' sound emanating from the metal leaving its sheath, so as to parry Vali's attack. I will admit that I wouldn't have expected something like this to happen back when I was back in my original world, but hey fuck if I'm complaining. I managed to get my sword in the way of his punch, however the force behind it, plus the laws of physics, forces and all that stuff, made sure I was blown away a few meters.

He continued to press forward even as I slid to a halt, and thanks to the Touki and devil magic he used to argument himself he managed to put me into a tight spot quickly. He threw countless blows at me, a right hook, spinning roundhouse kick, hook kick, ax kick, Haymaker, double punch, stomp towards the kneecap (HEY! I need those, you know!)... Yeah, the guy never cut me any slack, not that I expected him to.

All the while though, I ready my counterattack for just the right moment, building up my energy bit by bit while doing my best to remain on the defensive. Which now that I think about it, is goddamn hard with someone who's single attack can deplete your power by half. Still, I managed, even got in a few hits towards his shoulders and hips though they were shallow ones thanks to his Touki. After ducking under a sidekick, I gave a mighty war cry, unleashing the pent-up energy within to knock him back.

While it worked, I quickly get into my stance. I also swore I could feel the excitement coming from my sword when I did this, after all, it was already sentient enough to know what was coming next and its personality was, well explosive is a good way of describing it.

" _Rule over the thunderous skies, **Sora no Bokun**_ (Sky Tyrant)!"

With those words muttered under my breath, I activated the first release of my sword, or at least just the weapon's transformation of it.

Nevertheless, the results spoke for themselves. The sword erupted with power, releasing a wave of energy that knocked back the charging Vali and kicked up a fair amount of wind. The moment after this, it became covered in blue thunder, the sword handle turning into a form that looked like it was tied by the tail of a blue dragon. Two pure red gems appeared, one in the pommel and another on the main guard, and as an added bonus the sword got increasingly sharper than before.

Yeah, this was how my blade worked. I had to say that phrase while in this stance, and the sword would transform into this form it currently took like the Shinigami swords from Bleach. Another excellent anime, if I do say so myself (part of me wondering if the anime was inspired by my family though Demiurge-sensei just stated it was a coincidence... though I have my doubts if the amused smile on his face was anything to go by)

If father's sword was a blade that can cut anything, then mine is one that can destroy the landscape itself.

" **Bararaq** (lightning)" I stated, pointing Aoraitei at my opponent as a torrent of blue thunder was released from the sword. A NORMAL lightning was incredibly fast, no doubt that, but I have checked and my sword's Lightning was 20 times faster than normal Lightning.

Nevertheless, this guy I'm fighting had been fighting me for quite a while, and thanks to that plus his current enhancements he had the capacity to evade it mostly, he did get shocked a few times but overall he escaped without any serious injury. Vali had to evade quickly though, as even he wasn't stupid enough to face this attack head-on, a stark contrast to how he was as a child when he would impulsively face this using his head first, and yes I mean that literally. I remember how he once saw an enemy launching a rock at him and he thought it was a good idea to use his head to face that.

He wasn't the brightest when young.

Thanks to Vali giving me breathing space though, I could take a look around and see if everyone is ok.

Kuroka is creating multiple illusions of herself and filling the area with poisonous mist, but it isn't working well against Haineko as she simply waves her sword handle thus creating vortexes of wind and dust to disperse the poison while also shredding to pieces all illusions of Kuroka that she could. A very balanced fight.

Meanwhile, LeFay is creating many attack magic circles while Komaeda is just standing there, but the fight remains balanced or even in Komaeda's favor since some of the magic circles LeFay creates just so happens to malfunction somehow resulting in misses, or even self-explosions.

And even when the attack works and he is hit it just means that more of LeFay's magic circles fail due to sheer bad luck.

Komaeda's sacred gear is just that crazy, never underestimate the power of luck.

This obviously didn't sit well with my sparring partner. "Focus on me!" Vali shouted impatiently (eager much? Wait, that's a stupid question to ask considering its Vali) as his wings shined and a voice echoed. " **Balance Breaker: Scale Mail**."

In a bright flash, his balance breaker was activated and he was covered in a metallic armor encompassing his entire body. The armor looks like it did in the anime, though now that I'm seeing it myself and not through a screen, I can definitely understand how people in the show felt when seeing it. Nevertheless, I ready myself for the next round of our bout.

His speed reached a whole new level thanks to this move, a speed that almost rivaled the bolts of Lightning I could throw from my sword. Quickly following my instincts, I used _Tweh_ to get away from him, which proved to be successful...until the next second when I suddenly slip and fall over.

'Huh?!'

Looking down, I see that I'm surrounded by mud where there should be ground, though I did catch the last bits of a dissipating magic circle which clicks it in my mind. Vali must have used a magic circle to change the ground into mud and thus, succeeded in slowing me down by making me lose my footing. 'That little-!'

PUNCH

Unfortunately for me, my opponent took this opportunity to strike like a true dragon would. With fury and brutality only a dragon could possess, Vali threw his right armored fist forwards. He punched me square on the face and it was then that I heard one of the most annoying things of fighting Vali.

" **Divide**."

I groaned to myself while I felt my energy get cut in half at that instant, he took advantage of my temporary weakness to continue his assault. He bombarded me with punches and kicks like Yang Shao Long from RWBY, mixing in right hooks with elbow strikes, gripping my head for a headbutt then kicking me in the gut, forcing me to bend over with a gasp. He wasn't done then though, for he twisted into a fierce roundhouse kick that sent a thundering SNAP through the air upon impact. Fortunately, I had been used to such strikes from a young age, thus reflexively enhanced myself with Magic seconds before impact.

Still got sent flying though.

I fly through the air, landing on my stomach then bouncing back into the air again. Repeating this several times, I eventually go on all fours to slide to a halt, only to look up and see that Vali is already closing the distance between us. Quickly, I raise my sword to parry his first punch, sidestepping his kick and then vaulting over his sweep kick. He's not the only acrobat here, you know!

Landing behind him, I quickly jump away to get some distance, sliding along the ground like before. I don't know why, but through all my training, it didn't occur to me to train my Devil Wings, I had merely focused on my other abilities. In hindsight, this wasn't a smart move, but it was only discovered recently and I felt like a HUGE idiot for not realizing sooner.

Fortunately, I had other things to compensate.

"Alright, Vali..." I begin, getting his attention if the temporary ceasing of his attack on me is any indication. "How about I show you MY transformation, too, since you're in yours." Immediately after I say that, my body is enveloped in a bluish white flash, just like when my Sword activated but this time the shine covered my entire body instead of just my sword.

After the eruption of power that had ensued from that word died down, Vali looks and sees me in my new form. Got to admit, it took a LONG time training to get to this point, but the results definitely felt worthwhile to me. In this form, I have two horns and a red jewel on my forehead along with blue scale-like armor over parts of my body and a long tail. My sword also changes, becoming a sword with a guard around the hilt similar to that of the claw of a dragon, with blue scales. The blade itself almost glowed with power, too.

With my new form, my and Vali's bout continue... though the shockwaves from our blows are plenty enough to showcase just how intense our battle had become.

Soon enough the landscape was nothing more than a wasteland, destruction was all that could be seen there as me and Vali continued fighting to our heart's content.

* * *

 **Writer's Note:**

 **To explain better the soul weapon of Joseph I have to make something clear.**

 **First and foremost is that the weapons are like a mix between Bleach's Zampakutous and Magi's Metal Vessel's. They follow the same model of the Zampakutou in that it has two different levels that are extremely distant when it comes to power, but the difference is that the first level can be subdivided between only the weapon or covering the full body. Full body is admittedly much stronger but it costs more energy to maintain so it isn't used most of the time for most users.**

 **If anyone wants a better view of how Joseph's Sora no Bokun looks in full release just look for Simbad's Baal form from Magi. That is the form I decided for his first release.**

 **Also, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and I would like to know if anyone has a better idea for the summary as I took a look now after all this while and I don't feel it anymore. If you have any idea I would like to hear it =)**

 **Thanks for reading, and this is probably the logest chapter I worked with until now and it would be impossible to make without my good friend Hunter X Killer 86. If you want to see a good story with a lot of elements of many different franchises please try his story out, it is quite good.**


	16. Chapter 16

"*PANT* *PANT* that, *PANT* was a good fight." I said laying down on the floor.

On the other side of the floor was Vali who was also laying down on the floor. We both were completely exhausted and could not move a single step even if we wanted to.

The field around them was already turned into just ruins, no traces of the original area could be seen anywhere.

On the other areas, Komaeda was talking in a friendly way with LeFay but was mostly being ignored as she was irritated with him due to making her magic circles fail so many times. She was a proud magician and failing to create magic circles so many times was more than a bit annoying to her.

Komaeda saw her ignoring him as just another show of his bad luck so he did not care, it was just the way things are for him to have bad luck after winning a fight.

As the two leaders saw this the two chuckled a bit, this was quite a normal occurrence. LeFay pouting when she failed on her magic and Komaeda being, well Komaeda, were what could better be described as constants.

After looking at this the two leaders turned their eyes to the other side, sweatdropping at what they saw.

Hainekou and Kuroka no longer had any magic left to fuel their attacks which left them falling back to simply clawing and fighting each other in a way that reminded others of the classic woman's fight, and by that it means pulling the hair, slapping, and calling each other a 'bitch', 'slut' and 'skank'.

This is probably the only type of fighting that Vali actively said to NEVER want to get involved.

"Hey, are you closer to controlling it?" Vali asked me.

I could only sigh in tiredness and helplessness at the question.

"Not even close. I am not even sure it CAN be controlled." I said.

Amongst the techniques from the **_Black Heaven and Earth Techniques_** , there was one that could be called the ultimate one, the _**Black Origin Threshold**_. It is the most supreme and pure form of martial arts, the raw energy in an explosion is greater compared to Vali using controlled Juggernaut Drive. However, the usage of it has a grave effect; I lose complete control of my being when I use it. I become influenced by raw, unrestrained, and extreme instincts and emotions, making me to lash out at anything and anyone indiscriminately.

Well, if I had to say one aspect that makes up for it would be that this is also the greatest learning instrument since during this state my mind keeps adapting all the external stimuli and internal knowledge to improve my fighting style further and further.

But I cannot use it unless I am absolutely sure that there will be no unwanted victims so even finding a chance of train on it is hard, well this or that I have an ultimate hatred towards someone as in this way I will focus only on him and leave others out of the assault.

It is another one of my secret techniques so to say, one that I can only use on the direst of the situations.

Whenever I use it I feel like I am falling into an endless swamp and my consciousness is only capable of watching the world like someone watches a movie.

"Tch," Vali said with a displeased face. "That is why I said that you should focus more on getting stronger. It would not do if one of my rivals get weak."

"If memory serves me right I just punched you through a mountain and followed it up by stomping on you and using my SHINRA TENSEI to bury you on the ground." I said.

"That was only after I have used my dragon fire to burn you like a roasted chicken." He countered with my still healing burn marks to prove.

We glared at each other for a while before exploding in laughter. We both were quite alike in the strangest ways and we were both used to this sort of situation. I guess this is what a rival is like in the end, someone that really pushes you ahead and someone that you fully respect.

* * *

In the evening I had already wished farewell to Vali as I had other things to do now, which mainly was checking to see if anyone summoned me to do contracts and work on my next project.

Hm, a contract request just sprung up on Palestine, interesting I haven't been there in a while and I suppose it could be a good action to do that as there's been a lot of tension and problems in the area.

The Palestinians there really are going through a tough time. I mostly take work there and it is a good experience since I can help them when needed and also practice many different things there while searching for inspiration. As Korekyo, a magician friend of mine that I helped by saving his sick cousin, once said that all of humanity is beautiful and that even their worst and their best have their own flavors of beauty. I agree with this and I make it a point to observe all the extremes while helping others.

Anyway, if I am going to that area I think it is for the best to bring some of the others with me.

Entering the living room I went to look for my peerage and saw that Chris and Mukuro were playing a co-op match of Counter-Strike. These two girls loved their war games, or to be more precise anything that could go BANG and all that.

Mukuro was using a basic Gatling gun and killing enemies left and right with ample precision, a stark contrast to Chris that managed to get a rocket launcher and was having a blast trying to burn down the entire map with it.

These two were quite good friends, the two enjoyed spending time together playing their FPS games away.

"Hey," I called, interrupting their game. "Sorry for interrupting your game but would either of you like to go with me to Palestine to save some people?"

"Yeah, that sounds like something good to do! Going there to explode some idiots seems nice!" Chris said while jumping out of the sofa, she was truly quite simple to understand in the end. She was like me in that she liked helping others, it is one thing she never shies away from unless it is likely to lead to her death.

"Understood." was what Mukuro said before calmly standing up and start walking to her room to get her equipment. She was being extremely serious, clearly, she was not wanting any sort of joke right now.

SLAP

And that is why I gave her a playful slap in the ass when she passed by me. She jumped when she felt that and gave me her 'furious' version of a 'death glare', but I could see her embarrassment clearly.

"Sorry, it just seemed so juicy that I wanted to get a feel." I answered playfully. Her blush got much more intense when I said that and she scrambled to her room leaving me and Chris with smirks on our faces.

* * *

After Mukuro returned I created a magic circle to teleport the three of us to where we must go, the division between Palestine and Israel, a war zone that makes many think it is hell on Earth and as someone that was born in 'hell' I can confidently that this place is worse.

It is just so sad, so many lives being lost so easily for just a small piece of earth, so many humans killing other humans just to take away what could be said to be from someone else. I can never understand why humanity does what it does, how they can slaughter each other based on just ideology.

This is what I was thinking when my teleportation succeeded and I appeared on the top of an orphanage that clearly was half destroyed by a bomb.

But even as I see this I also see that there are a few people trying to get as many of the children under here out of the rocks.

I look around and can identify who my newest contractor. He looks worn down and resigned, but when he saw the three of us he quickly got some energy back.

I turned to the two and made a quick decision.

"Chris, I want you to go and talk to our contractor. Mukuro, you are to watch the outside for any sign of an attack, if you see any idiot trying to do something stupid you can blow him up as hard as you want. I will stay here and try to help those here."

""Understood."" the two said and went into action.

Now, for me to get this many rocks out as fast as I can I need to use my gravity trait. Well, I guess it is good that I managed to learn and control my Spirit Weapon ring not long ago.

" _Make the Earth tremble with one move_ ** _ _JURYOKU ONI_ _**(gravity demon)."

I instantly changed my body when I used this, I got wild lion-like brown hair, a heavy golden chain on my neck, my legs looked similar to a brown sheep, my chest got naked except for a line of clothing dropped on my chest, I had a barded tail, a big metallic ring appeared on my back that allowed me to control my own gravity (raise my weight and everything), and last my right hand got huge, like body size big really, with an appearance that looked similar to a demons claw but earth brown instead of black like most demons.

Raising my giant hand, I pointed it at the pile of rubble.

" _Reverse_."

When my ability took effect all the gravity slowly changed directions, all the rubble was safely removed thus showing many dead corpses but also many people that were still alive.

Seeing this scene those who previously were removing the rubble now ran forward to get as many people as possible out of the rubble.

There were around thirty-something survivors, impressive if I can say so myself.

After they finished taking out all the living people there I dropped the rubble again, I had something much more important to do than savaging corpses.

Deactivating my transformation I called for everyone to put those still alive together. Following that I cut my arm to release as much blood as I can on the people there, I need to be fast as there are some that are not on good conditions and treatment is necessary if they want to survive.

I wasn't particularly worried about the blood loss since I would heal as soon as I closed the wound.

The people around looked at me warily at first since they probably thought I was making some bizarre 'evil' blood ritual, some even took out arms to face me thinking of 'saving' their wounded friends. But that changed when they noticed how the wounds were closing at a visible speed.

When the last one finished healing I stopped trying to not heal the wound on my arm, and as soon as I did that the wound closed.

Seeing the thankful eyes of others was truly an amazing thing, I personally think that saving others in exchange for this looks are worth it, but I must make sure to receive something in exchange.

This is a contract, and while I admit that I failed in talking to my contractor before moving I still must receive an appropriate payment for my work here.

Approaching the contractor I noticed how Chris was looking at me with a degree of admiration, she could be one of the less friendly people in my peerage but it was undeniable that she was also one of the softest at heart.

I don't know if I should feel proud of her for being such a good person inside or sad that my peerage is full of evil individuals that don't care about the lives of the innocent.

"How did the negotiations go?" I asked.

"Well, here is the thing, he asked if we could go rescue the ones captured by the attackers. Apparently, it was not enough to blow up this orphanage they decided to go a step further and kidnapped a few of the kids and workers here." Chris said with extra disgust. She was once similar to this kidnapped kids, suffering something similar and only rescued by grandma due to sheer coincidence.

But kidnappers, huh. To think this mission would go in this direction, I must truly be lucky.

"Let's go see the contractor." I said while I started walking towards the person who summoned me.

It was a short old bald man, he was wearing the typical clothes of the region and was weeping while he looked at the quiet but very much alive children.

When he saw me closing in he started thanking me profusely for what I just did, it was nice.

"I get that you are thankful, but I heard that you also wanted a rescue operation for some kidnapped children is that correct?"

"Yes, yes indeed I want that. My little grandbaby was captured together with a few of the other kids, please you must save him. Please!" he said.

"Fine, fine, I will go and try to rescue the kids. Sheesh, you don't have to repeat yourself so much." I said. "Anyway, you must understand that this is a devil's contract and as such I will request equal pay for my work." I said.

"Anything." he answered.

Hum, what should I request?

"Okay, I want any information you may provide about bandits in the area, also I want a monetary compensation. If you can't provide it right now then it can be replaced with work, obviously, I guarantee your safety in case you do need to work for my family and yes we do have legal and good jobs that even someone of an advanced age can do." I said, feeling similar to a seller.

"I accept, I just want my grandbaby back to me. Please, please save him." the man continued to say.

"And the contract is signed." I said with a grin. Getting him to work on my family's company is sure to make wonders, a fact proved by how those that accept this sort of deal usually work better for my family as a way to pay us back for the help.

I was about to ask for information about the ones who attacked when I heard Mukuro's voice.

"Boss, I see a convoy approaching. They are heavily armed and I don't think they come with kind intentions." She said without taking her eyes off of her binoculars.

Well, it seems like whoever did this decided to make things easier for us. They are either stupid or this is unrelated, but whatever the reason may be they are an unlucky bunch.

"Mukuro, can you eliminate them from there?"

"Not all of them, if I try it is likely that the ones more far behind will get away." was what she said.

"Okay, wait until they get closer. I want you to eliminate as many of them as possible without causing harm to the weapons if at all possible. These can be sold later for a good price." I said. This is a side job of mine so to say, whenever there is a battle against armed soldiers I savage the body for any weapons and sell them at a lower cost to Kasper. This is a win-win situation since I get extra money from missions and Kasper gets more products to sell, the only ones that lose here are those who I kill and I couldn't care less about them.

Mukuro nodded to my words while Chris showed a displeased face, but in the end, neither of them complained as they knew my thought process on this situations well enough.

Before long we could clearly hear the sound of the engines getting closer and the sound of men yelling all sorts of vulgarities, probably mercenaries or terrorists taking advantage of the situation on this place.

Disgusting.

When they were close enough Mukuro released one shot from her magic rifle, piercing right through the man on top of the car with a machine gun. After he died Mukuro showed no hesitation or care as she simply changed her focus to the driver of the second car, when it lost control the car hit on the others disarranging the formation while Mukuro expressionlessly continued to shot once at a time, killing each of her target with only head-shots. And the most amazing part was that she was over one kilometer's away.

When the shooting stopped I walked to the convoy without a single care. When I was close enough I created a magic barrier around the area to hide the sound and sight of what was about to happen, the people here already went through enough and I know Chris doesn't like this part of the job. When I finished putting the barrier one of the people there that believed himself hidden well enough, jumped at me from behind one of the cars while screaming.

"Die you monste-"

SLASH

"Talking before shooting is stupid." Mukuro said as she cleaned the knife she used to cut that man's head off.

Did I say before that she was dangerous? Because she is, she most definitely is dangerous.

She then looked all around and said. "All clear."

I nodded and looked around until I found what I was looking for, a survivor.

Well, a 'survivor' is a wide term since Mukuro blew up his knees, shot one of his shoulders, and even managed to shoot through his hands. Even if he survives he won't be capable of doing most things ever again.

Not that he WILL survive anyway.

When I got close enough I put myself on equal eye level with him and with a smile I said. "I want some intel, tell me everything you know and I can let you wal... go free." He was glaring daggers at me with his eyes as he heard my words, I guess the remainder of his recent wounds was uncalled for. Well, fuck you. "First, where is your base located?"

"Do you think I would tell you th-"

CRASH

I put my hand on his hair and hit his head against the floor.

"I am sorry, did you make a mistake somewhere? Did I say that this was a negotiation? You will tell me what I want, this is just a matter of time really." I said while keeping the smile. "Now, first question: where is your base located?"

"F-Fuck yo-"

CRASH

"Where is your base located?

"I won't s-"

CRASH

"Where is your base located?

"Shove it up your a-"

CRASH

"Where is your base located?

"Please sto-"

CRASH

"Where is your base located?

"Please s-"

CRASH

"Where is your base located?

"ALRIGHT, I will tell you!" He yelled through the blood and tears that fell from his eyes. His face was completely disfigured as he said that, a horrifying sight no doubt, but my smile remained as I said.

"I still don't feel the sincerity."

"Wha-"

CRASH

CRASH

CRASH

CRASH

CRASH

"Please let me tell you, oh GREAT PERSON!" He yelled.

"See, it wasn't so difficult, right? Now, tell me all I want to hear or I will continue this treatment." My smile getting a bit twisted as I said. "And you better not think of passing out or dying, I can stop both of them if I so desire. And if you think of lying, well I suppose your stomach is big enough to stuff all your fingers and your penis so that should work. Now, first question: where is your base located?"

After that he told me everything, he didn't even try to hide it anymore as he told everything I possibly wanted to know and more, he even told me of what he had done and what his group was doing to the people here, of how he planned on raping some of the villagers and how he killed dozens before just for shits and or giggles. It was like he thought of me as some sort of priest that he was confessing all his sins.

I must say, even him desperately begging for his life is interesting and beautiful in a mundane way. Well, I did not intend on letting him go for real but I guess I will let him go. Putting my hand on his shoulders I decided to prove how much of a nice guy I am to his type of people by taking him to somewhere that his betrayed colleagues and the revengeful villagers won't possibly be able to find him.

It is a nice cozy place right in the middle of a desert. There was no water for him to drown, no source of food for him to potentially get food poisoning or eat something rotten, and especially no intelligent beings to potentially disturb him when he tries to sleep. He can be there for as long as he wishes, and then some more.

... I guess I might not be that good of a person after all.

.

.

.

.

.

Meh, who cares?

* * *

 **Writer's Note:**

 **Just in case someone didn't realize yet Joseph is not a pure-hearted good person. He is more than capable of doing all sorts of evil deeds as long as it beneficiates him and isn't directed to people who he can consider evil.**

 **Basically, don't screw around with him.**

 **Also, this second spirit weapon was inspired by the Agares transformation of Ren Kouen from Magi. It is a powerful form that I think looks interesting.**


	17. Chapter 17

"What do you want to do next, boss?" Chris asked when I relayed to her the info.

"I think I know what would be for the best." I said. "How about we call for Solution? She probably could sneak in on the enemy's base and rescue the hostages." I proposed the idea.

I think this could be the best course of action, but I still want to hear the opinion of the others on this. Unless the situation requires that I do otherwise, I do try to listen to advice from the others as much as possible.

Believing that I am the only one that knows what the best course of action is is the height of stupidity.

"I think that calling for her would be counter-productive," Mukuro said, I always valued her opinion as a military expert and after some time she finally started talking more for herself. "The longer we spend waiting for her the higher the chances of the enemy realizing that they lost part of their forces and they will then have time to prepare a plan for our arrival. They might even threaten us using the very lives we are trying to save. The best course of action should be to swiftly attack from the outside while sending someone inside to teleport the victims out of there."

Chris listened and nodded her head, but considering it was her she probably just likes the idea of blowing shit up while saving lives. She likes both these things very much.

"Hum... okay, let's go with Mukuro's strategy." I said. "And for those who will enter there, I think going with Mukuro entering should suffice, she has ample knowledge on this sort of things and would be the best option for this."

Mukuro nodded her head at my decision. She really had ample experience in invading enemy territory so this was what made the most sense. While Mukuro invaded Chris would create a distraction by exploding a few of their facilities, and when they tried to attack back I would protect Chris.

With our plan decided the three of us moved out.

It was time to begin a small massacre.

What a fun day.

* * *

Approaching the base from the front was Chris. She had heard of what these bastards were doing there so she took extra pleasure in her objective of fucking shit up over here.

'Well, let's get this fucking party started!'

With this, she activated her sacred gear, Ichaival. It was similar to Maria's Gungnir (made from a replica of Odin's weapon), in that it to form an armor over her body and that it came from the replica of a legendary weapon of the same name that was once used by Odin.

It was a red armor that sported thrusters over the ankles and thighs, with white stockings underneath. The main body consists of a one-piece swimsuit with white and red color schemes. It exposed the shoulders and had a black cloth collar around the neck. The bodysuit also exposed the torso area, including some cleavage. There are light red gloves that reach her biceps, going beneath some crimson forearm Armor and some black gloves. From the back behind the waist are some rectangular wings for flight. Over the head is a set of thruster/headphone hybrid structures that are similar to the ones on the leg Armor.

Smirking she willed the crimson forearm part to release itself from her arms as it turned into two crossbows charged with plenty of magic energy in arrow's format. But before releasing that the rectangular wings from her lower back opened revealing over 24 small bombs that she showed no hesitation to release at the bandit's base.

"Mega Death Party!" and with that, all 24 bombs were launched at high speeds at the enemy.

BOOM

BOOM

BOOM

BOOM

BOOM

"Enemy attack!" Someone shouted from the inside of the place as many men started going out of the facility to fight against the invaders, whoever they may be.

But all they received was a hail of energy arrows from Chris' bow.

It was then that a reinforced car appeared, someone must have had the 'brilliant' idea of trying to hit her with a car.

Well, tough luck as all she did was put the crossbows together to turn it into a magic rifle with plenty capacity to pierce right through the defenses of the car and sending the whole thing in the fucking air.

Heck she barely had to try and she already was burning the entire place off the map, it just wasn't worse because she chose not to use her more destructive armaments so as not to accidentally kill any innocents that are inside the place, but after the rescue it would be fair game.

There was even a sniper there that tried to pierce her head, but she was just too used to combat at this point due to training with Mom. She swiftly evaded the strike and was about to aim a missile at the asshole that tried to off her, but she held her hand when she saw that he already was a corpse. Joseph over the body with a more than pissed face, trying to kill his peerage members being one of the rare things that could SERIOUSLY piss him off.

'Heh, not bad.' was what she thought before getting bored of using her crossbows and changing them into a pair of double tri-barrel gatlings that fit over each of her arms, trading the homing properties of her crossbows for raw firepower.

"Billion Maiden." she said before starting to shoot bullet after bullet like there was no tomorrow.

And for many that were there, there would be NO tomorrow.

* * *

"It seems like master wasn't capable of holding up." Mukuro mused while seeing Joseph jump from one sniper spot to the other, looking to eliminate any possible enemies capable of potentially harming Chris.

This was one of the things she admired about him; how he was always wanting to protect his peerage members from danger, that and his kind heart of accepting everything from those he cared for, even someone as drenched in blood as her. He was not someone innocent or someone that accepted evil by the sake of evil, he was someone who would save hundreds with one hand while laughing as he slaughtered and tortured dozens if that was what he judged necessary.

It was funny really, how he could be called a saint by some and a monster by others. Well, maybe that explains why there were some who gave him that nickname.

The _Heavenly Demon_.

But this was not the time for thinking about this. She must focus on what was important, the mission assigned to her.

She had just turned a corner when she saw enemy soldiers appearing on the side, not letting them warn anyone of her presence she quickly used her magic rifle to shoot the two through the head and instantly killed the two.

The base was going crazy as there were soldiers running all around so no one noticed two people just falling down, besides Mukuro quickly went forward to hide the corpses if only to get a few more seconds.

After completing this she continued on her way to the deposit where the hostages were.

Putting her ear to the door all she heard inside was moaning and grunts of pain.

Imagining what she would see Mukuro opened the door and saw a scene that looked straight out of hell.

Men were using a captured woman and underage girls around eleven to relieve of their sexual desires (some even going for those younger than that, a true monstrosity). There were a lot of mutilated and dismembered body parts all around the room (probably the result of some weird 'fun times' they had with those people here), decaying human bodies, and many children are in cells too small for them.

There were still a few of the men there who were clearly high and others were still raping the women there without a care even when the alarms were ringing and an armed woman entered the room.

Mukuro looked at it all and did not bat an eye, she was a soldier now and emotions were not welcome when on a mission.

She simply raised her gun and started shooting at all enemies inside.

After finishing that she took out her cell phone to call for Joseph, he would teleport these kids away from here before it was time to burn this entire hellhole.

* * *

After sending the kids and other kidnapped children away I still had one final destination in mind, it was necessary to make sure that my conjecture was correct and for that, I need to capture the leader of this shithole.

Approaching the location most likely for the said leader to be at I saw that his office was empty, and if he isn't here then it is likely that he is escaping right now.

Well, if that is so then it won't be that difficult to capture him.

Opening my wings I flew higher up, enjoying the cold feeling of the night. When I was high enough I started looking all around in search for any traces of a convoy to take the leader of this scum away.

And look at that, a group of three cars leaving from the back quietly.

A smile that was just as sweet as the one I had during my wonderful talks with the man that now is enjoying his time in that super calm place under the sun.

The thought of him enjoying himself there warmed Joseph's heart.

Anyway, after identifying the location of this camp's leader the work got easy. Joseph took out his sword and decided to go with his sword released, just for shits and giggles.

" _Rule over the thunderous skies, **Sora no Bokun**_ (Sky Tyrant)!"

With that, he released the full first level of his sword. His speed reaching super-sonic levels (but only on straight lines, a weakness he had no way to fix) as he darted to the convoy like a lightning flash.

BOOM

He impacted the ground with a small explosion, tremors running through the ground as he appeared right in front of the convoy.

The cars did not stop or even tried to evade him, instead choosing to try and pass through him.

It was the wrong choice.

The car hit from the front, but, with just a single raised hand, Joseph stopped the car without a problem. Following that he created a big magic circle around him, this one was one of his originals that was made with the express objective of putting others to sleep, but it only really worked if the opponent was weak against magic attacks or much weaker than him.

"Now for the boring part."

I walked around the cars, looking to see who the leader of this group was, and honestly speaking it wasn't that difficult to identify him.

"Why did this bastard decided to dress up as a freaking CONDECORED general? Is he that stupid or is he into cosplay?" I asked/mused as I looked at the leader of this group. After identifying the leader I decided what mthe best next action should be.

"Demiurge-sensei, I need some help here." He said as he activated a communication magic circle to talk with my father's Queen.

Almost instantly a teleportation magic circle appeared as Demiurge surged from it, claws out and hellfire covering his form.

When he saw that no dangers were present Demiurge relaxed, he was always quite protective of me as I was the man that would one day take the mantle of the Lord Barbatus in the future and I am his personal apprentice (and favorite) in the arts of politics, plotting, and devil's magic.

"What is it you wanted my help with, Joseph-sama?"

"Well, two things really. First is for you to take this equipment" I said while pointing to the cars and weapons there. "And the ones you can scavenge from those ruins" I said pointing at the still standing camp, that had some smoke rising in there. "And resell it to Kasper, use 30% of the money to help the kids that I rescued, 10% to my personal account, and the other 60% is to be added to the funds of the household." In the end, I already am filthy rich and even if I say just 10% it still is a sizable number.

"I am sorry, but that is unacceptable." Demiurge protested. "While I do agree with using even this rabble to make you and the house stronger, letting part of it for you yourself be nothing but an obvious and correct action, but letting a greater part to those worms than you simply cannot be accepted."

"I did not ask for your opinion on this." I said coldly, shutting him up. "I decided that this is what should be done and this is what will be done. These are MY spoils of war and I can and WILL do with them as I see fit."

"As you wish, Joseph-sama!" Demiurge said with a polite bow.

He was someone that would probably burn a sick baby before thinking about healing said baby, Demiurge was just this sort of person. He was undeniably loyal to the utmost to my family, but if not watched carefully he would turn those he was working for into evil overlords.

"And about your second request?" Demiurge asked.

"I want you to get all the info this man has." I said pointing to the leader. "I want you to investigate his criteria for choosing who to kidnap, associates, locations of other camps similar to this one, anything you can extract of him really."

Demiurge looked at me with an evil smile as he asked.

"And why are you interested in this?"

"Because some of those he captured were sacred gear users." I said.

That shocked Demiurge a bit, his tail swinging from side to side happily.

"And you want this info?" he asked, probably he already thought of everything I will say but this is probably his way of testing me.

"Of course, first because I want to know how he was identifying said users and if possible for us to use this method too, second to know if there are other places where they are capturing sacred gear users like this, and third and more important is that I NEED to know who the buyer is. Leaving an organization of unknown origins to collect sacred gear users like this without anyone knowing while disguising as it is, independent terrorist attacks is something that I simply cannot agree to. If they are allies I want to know their reasoning, if they are strong enemies I want to prepare for them, if they are weak enemies I WILL eliminate them with extreme prejudice before they grow any stronger, and if they are neutral to us I will try to absorb them silently by killing their leaders." I said, earning claps of joy from Demiurge.

"Excellent, truly excellent." He said excitedly. "I Demiurge swear to obtain any and all intel this man and the others here may have, do not worry." He said before swinging his hand while creating a magic circle under the entire convoy to send it all directly to where he wanted.

"Good, now if you will excuse me for a moment." Joseph said as he created a small magic transmission circle. "Chris-chan, you are permitted to send this entire hellhole to kingdom 9 now. No restrains necessary."

"Okay, boss." She said cutting off the communications.

I started counting.

FIVE

FOUR

THREE

TWO

ONE

KKKKKKKKKKKAAAAAAAAAAAAAABBBBBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

And the entire place was blown up in a marvelous explosion as four big ass (imagine them being about 8 meters long and 2 meters in thickness) missiles hit their mark.

"Well, I think it will be hard to salvage anything of use now." Demiurge said as he sweat-dropped.

"Thanks for the good work." I said playfully before launching myself at high speeds at Chris' location. I have to catch up to her and Mukuro before passing by that village to see how the kidnapped kids and the others were doing, take them to a safe location, make any necessary arrangements on my own (Demiurge was not to be trusted with this sort of work after all, and this is MY contract at the end of the day anyway) and all before school started in... 2 hours.

Yep, I better run.

* * *

"UNACCEPTABLE!" an obnoxious person shouted on the student council room when I showed up over one hour late. "As a student in this school, you should pay more attention to your duties to the school and be present by the requested time!" Taka said as he started his speech about regulation and whatnots.

I ended up taking longer than anticipated as I had to heal some of those kidnapped children and try to disengage all those people thanking me over and over.

I didn't even have any chance to sleep tonight, but I guess this loud mouth gives me as good a chance as any.

ZZZZZZZZ

ZZZZZZZZZZZ

ZZZZZZZZZZ

"ARE YOU HEARING ME?" Taka yelled even louder.

"No." I said as I woke up. Phew, I slept a whole 40 seconds. I must have been more tired than I expected.

"WHA? You should pay more attention when someone is ta-"

"Shut up, you ignorant loudmouth." An annoyed and 'holier than thou' voice said from the side coming from a boy that was sitting there with a book in his hand while sitting in a FUCKING GOLDEN THRONE. He has short, dirty blond hair, blue eyes, and wears white framed glasses. "If you have had enough of being an eyesore to all of mankind do us all a favor and shut your mouth, and if possible never bother to open it again."

"B-Byakuya-sama, so cool!" A girl said that. She has long dark purple hair she keeps in two braids behind her, she also has grey eyes and large wire-rimmed round glasses. He was Byakuya Togami, one of Sona's mutation pawns and the son of a multi-billion dollar company, and she was Fukawa Toko, one of Sona's knights and my rival in the writing industry.

Taka started glaring at Togami and was just about to say something when a loud tremor rocketed the whole room, followed by a door on the side opening and a tall teenager that looked closer to over twenty more than anything, walked out of the bathroom.

He had black hair pulled to the back and the typical school uniform, but the arm parts were ripped away due to excessive muscles and he also had a heavy metal chain that probably weighed at least thirty pounds around his neck.

"Sorry for taking so long, I was releasing a monstrous shit there. It was a wonderful shit that came out scraping." He said with a booming laughter as the dust in the bathroom came outside, dust probably from the destroyed toilet seat. He was Nekomaru Nidai, Sona's second rook, and the manager of most sport-related clubs. Some might even say that he was the ultimate team manager. "ANYWAY, JOSEPH WHAT YOU MUST DO IS HAVE MORE SSSPPPPPIIIIIRRRRRIIIIIIIITTTTTTT AND GET HERE IN TIME, UNDERSTOOD YOU NEED MORE PUNCTUALITY AND MORE TEAM SSSPPPPIIIIIRRRIII-"

"Anyway," Sona said, drawing the attention of the room back to her before her own peerage ended up making her deaf, something she feared more often than she should need to. "Joseph, can you at least give us a reason as to why you arrived so late? This is not your first time getting here late and it is not acceptable for you to get late all the time."

"Well, to be fair you probably won't believe me." I said to her.

"Try me." She said reclining in her chair.

"If you insist this is what happened." I said before laying down all the facts of what happened to her.

She listened impassively at the story of my contract this time, and when I finished she just sighed tiredly and said.

"Yeah, I don't believe you. At least not on everything you just said, but if you want to insist on this then fine. You may leave now, but be warned that more lateness will not be tolerated.

"I understand... to be fair I probably will not be able to appear here on time tomorrow." I said sheepishly.

"And why IS that?" Sona asked, glaring daggers at me.

"I have another contract to do tonight and it will probably take a while." I said with the most serious and honest face I can.

She continued looking at me and sighed before massaging her temples and saying.

"Fine, do as you please. But be warned that THIS is why I cannot trust your honesty." She said tiredly.

I smiled and turned to leave, already thinking about what to wear for tonight's show of Maria. She would be giving a show on Tokyo later tonight and I have VIP tickets, given by Maria herself of course.

I guess that the fact that I am known as a great liar may have made others mistrust my word, especially if there are shows of Maria-chan happening right now as she is starting a new toured.

Well, who cares about what Sona has to say?

It has been far too long since I've seen my wonderful Queen that is destined t be with me, and I want to go hear her singing already!

* * *

Later on that same day at another point of the town.

"I love you! Please go out with me." a raven-haired buxom girl said to a brown-haired boy who foolishly said. "Yes."


	18. Chapter 18

The darkness of the night overtook the light of day, once again displaying its routine eternal cycle. Yet, the activity right now seemed just as lively as it would in the daytime, so much so that it almost seemed that it being night didn't even register to those partaking it. The star of the show stood in her room, her preparation room, looking at herself in a rather expensive-looking, golden mirror. Her own reflection stared back at her, yet both sides showed extreme anxiety, nervousness, and doubt. The time for the show was fast approaching, but instead of being happy Maria found herself being a nervous wreck. The complete OPPOSITE of what she wanted to feel.

It had been like this for a while now, she would always show a brave front but deep down inside she was always worried that something bad would happen. It was something akin to something that a friend of hers had told her a while back, about Masks and reflection. How people put up Masks to set up a facade to fool others into thinking different things. That advice had been largely why she spent a lot of time in front of a mirror, practicing how to retain her 'Mask' in front of herself. Part of her surprised herself with how... intricate, intimate even, that this was. It almost felt like she was looking at a different version of herself, rather than looking at what lay beneath the surface. It also afforded her a lot of skills in detecting signs of deceit or hidden intent from her fans, something that she found to be INSANELY useful, especially with the more... fanatical ones.

She liked her work, the chance to encourage people forward by using her voice was something she enjoyed more than most things, but if there was one thing she didn't enjoy, then that would be the immense pressure that lay on her chest, constricting her lungs and making breathing increasingly difficult, every time before a show. Sometimes, even though she enjoyed what she did, she sometimes felt like she was entering the lions den as it were, as there have been times where her fans got a ;little too 'rowdy', and if it weren't for some very special people, then things could have ended up erupting into a riot. Fans were largely like that, they could enjoy something so much that even the slightest difference in opinion could make them rather 'heated' if one got her meaning.

However, she couldn't go further down into her thoughts as, out of nowhere, a worker at the place she performed at poked her head through the door. It had been at a time where she had been sure that the Idol would be decent, so there were no worries there. Though, judging by the look on the worker's face, Maria assumed that she had something big to say."Maria-sama, it is time." The worker said.

Her words, however, were like a switch being flipped on the young idol's mind. Instantly, Maria's shaking hands stopped shaking, becoming still and focused as she got steady again. Confidence exuding from her entire body as she got out of her room, her mask of extreme confidence put itself in place again. A matching smile formed on her lips as she nodded at the worker, who gave a relieved smile as she opened the door and led her out of the room. They both headed towards the stage, for the biggest part of these events.

She would only show any weakness when alone or with those she knew well enough.

And just as she got up in the stage she saw one such person there.

The blond devil she met so long ago was right there, on the VIP places occupying the seats around him with many roses bouquets and with a sign written in hands that said: 'Maria is the number ONE Queen!'. He had this massive grin on his face, a grin more suited to a child than a teenager, which was exactly what the guy was. At least, to her.

He may have the body of a teenager and be ruthless at times, but deep down, to those that he cared for, the guy could be one of the childish people she knew. The way his eyes gleamed at her, filled with adoring appreciation for her, as well as her work and songs, helped settle her internal conflicts. Plus develop those butterflies in her stomach.

Looking at him making a fool of himself she could only barely hold back a laugh, as she had expected something like this from the Devil. Since the first training match they had as kids, he had always been like this. Supportive of her and appearing in so many of her shows that he could even be called a stalker by some. She could hardly recall a time when he HADN'T been around for her every step in her career and important show, unless it was something major on his end and even then he would make SURE ample protection would be right there to protect her. Usually a peerage member or someone else she could trust, which weren't that many in the end. He would vehemently REFUSE to leave behind someone she even marginally distrusted, just went to show how much he valued her.

Ironic, huh? For a Devil to go so far for something like that.

Even more ironic, he had a special place in her heart due to how he was always there for her all the steps of the way. Helped her more than she could ever believe before. To be totally honest, she already agreed inside to be his Queen, and yet she wasn't.

The reason?

Well, it was simple really: the two of them were simply headstrong idiots. That was pretty much the 'least' offensive way that people who saw their relationship grow would call them. He continued following that promise from when they were kids, becoming more and more famous worldwide due to how many amazing achievements he had, and she simply would never let herself drop that matter.

She saw his efforts and sorta wanted to see how far he will go for her... What? She was a teenage girl and wanted to be hard to get! She wouldn't let herself be one of those easy girls, you know! She had STANDARDS, even if a bit too high!

Taking a deep breath to rein in her emotions, Maria spoke into the mic, her voice reverberating throughout the stadium in front of a huge crowd of adoring fans "I shall give my songs to the whole world. I won't hold back. I'll go forward as fast as I can. Come with me, but only if you can keep up!" she declared with extreme confidence. Her determined persona taking over, she was not the same mentally week girl anymore, she would not stop. She would reach the top, be the best and strongest there is.

This is her, the top idol of the world, Maria Cadenzavna Eve.

The show started, and Joseph enjoyed it the whole way. He just loved seeing Maria sing, he considered himself her number one fan by were fans who 'thought' they were number one simply by buying all the merch, listening to her DVD's and albums. Bah, that was NOTHING compared to what he did for her, he knew her true self, as well as WAY before they had even heard of Maria.

Seeing her on the stage, her voice and lyrics filled with strength and determination made him all the surer. He one day would make her his queen. There was basically no room for argument, he only wanted one woman as his queen, and he had made that decision long ago. No matter who tried to convince him, Maria was practically his Queen already, in his eyes at least. The advise he had given her about Masks had worked wonders for her. He could tell due to knowing her for so long, and how he had been able to see the signs of a Mask being worn.

Her songs filled his being with the most joy that e had ever felt, Nothing, not fighting, not getting back at the idiot Riser, not gaining his dreams, nothing compared to hearing his future Queen sing. If he could, he'd drop whatever it was that he was doing at the drop of a hat just to hear this woman sing, or if she was looking for some advise, he would be there for her. He'd do anything to make sure she would keep on smiling, cause Satan dammit he LOVED to see her smile. Ironic that he hadn't told her that detail, yet.

As the show progressed though, he noticed something from the corner of his eyes. A green maggot that had no place anywhere NEAR his future queen, especially when his eyes showed his disgusting desires. As the show progressed further and further Joseph could not relax nearly as much as he wanted, all due to his worry about what this worm would do. Joseph knew very well what this person was like, and honestly speaking CANON downplayed how terrible and evil Diodora really was.

Since the very first time Joseph saw Diodora on a show from Maria, he already had several 'talks' with the green bastard. But no matter how much he beat him the little shit would continue to try and entice Maria, all because of one of her two sacred gears. Just based on that gear alone she could be considered a 'holy woman', after all, she had an armor that came from a copy of Gungnir and one that came from the holy sword Argetlan. The aura of holiness that Maria could exude being too much for this sick idiot that thinks with his nano-sized dick.

Joseph also knew that Maria almost died at least three times in 'unfortunate accidents' while he just so happened to be close by with an evil piece n the ready. Luckily, Maria was not so weak, she managed to beat anything that came her way without a problem. And Joseph always beat up Diodora everytime this happened, the only reason as to why Joseph hasn't killed that bastard YET (and one day he will, there was no doubt in Joseph's mind about that) was because Ajuka liked the shitstain for some reason that no one would ever understand.

And so, seeing Diodora here brought Joseph's alarm level to the max. He had to protect Maria, he would not allow her to get hurt or lose her career because of Dildodora.

While paying attention to the surroundings Joseph started putting more of his energy in his ears and eyes, watching carefully for any signs of danger that might appear.

And look and behold, there were signs soon enough.

DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA!

It happened so fast, that Joseph almost didn't realize it himself, a barrage of Gatling Gun fire erupted forth like a sea of lead, spreading through the entire Stage and silencing everything else. Soon enough, screams rang out from the mouths of the human guests, which Joseph ignored while he jumped out of his VIP seat, his eyes ablaze with fury.

Whoever did this, would pay. And the pay would not be cheap.

As the rail of bullets stopped a man went up the stage. He had a machine gun in hand and a militaristic uniform.

Around the place, there also were many other such men standing up with guns in hand.

"This is a robbery. No harsh movements and everything will go fine." The man in the stage said.

Yeah right, as if THIS was true. I could catch the evil smirk of Diodora from the corner of my eye, it was clear that he was looking forward to what was going to happen.

But I have better things to do right now, namely, call my peerage members to help me out here. I can't be everywhere and using magic in front of an audience like this and while on camera was completely out of question. I need my team here.

"Hey, you bitch, come here." the leader of the futurely very DEAD group said while pointing his gun at Maria.

CRUNCH

A metal ball hit the hand that was pointing to Maria, breaking it with blood splashing everywhere.

"What you are doing?" I said, already approaching the stage. He was about to aim his gun at me when I launched myself as fast as the limit of what a trained human could reach, reaching him in an instant, surprising everyone looking at me. "What are you doing?" I asked again, veins appearing on my face as I had to pressure myself to NOT kill this asshole that DARED to point a gun at MY Queen.

But before I could get my hands in him a metal pole hit him squarely on the face of said person. The identity of the said pole being the microphone on Maria's hand that she was using as a makeshift sword.

"I didn't ask your help here." She said while eyeing me. When in stage or around others she really pushed her more confident persona to the forefront, but even now that I look at her like this I cannot help but think she is beautiful. When being confident or when she is meek, all of it is just so beautiful and perfect in my eyes.

"Sorry, I know you could - Dodge!" I yelled as I saw one of the robbers trying to shoot us, I normally would think it was desperation but I could clearly see the signs of hypnosis in him and Diodora was a bit further away now but his magic signature was the same as the one hypnotizing said robber.

Yeah, I WILL kill him. He has signed his name on express Deadman walking.

I jumped in Maria's direction and put one of the decorations on the stage in the way. Obviously, it was to thin to resist a rail of bullets, but nothing that a stealthy use of magic to make these decorations more resistant couldn't do.

The people around us were all screaming like crazy, terrified of what was going on. Maria saw this and looked at my direction, I could only sigh with a knowing smile on my face, I know that look of hers like the back of my hand. Nodding to her I punched the stage to take out a piece of the floor, with the said piece in hand I waited until the shooter stopped after a few seconds and in the instant it stopped I jumped out of our 'protection' and pinched the piece toward the individual in a way that would make professional baseball players proud.

As soon as it hit I positioned myself in front of Maria so as to protect her, the sword on my side is drawn to cut down any and all bullets that came her way. She didn't bat an eye at all the chaos as she said in a confident voice.

"Stay calm!" She said. "This will all be over soon."

And she was not wrong at all, I could see that in this instant that everyone looked at her direction my peerage members already entered the stadium and were quietly and efficiently incapacitating all these robbers. Peko even looked extra cold faced, I bet she would kill every single person that pointed the gun to me if it was up to her right now. Well, Komaeda wasn't too far behind in his killing intent, for these idiots to not feel the imminent threat to their lives just means that they are inexperience trash that probably never took a life or have their life threatened.

Seeing this I smiled, however, I also noticed that Diodora smirk was still in place, almost as if he won based on what just happened.

CRACK

CLASH

A part of the roof of the stage fell, right into Maria's direction trying to kill her off. Well, it could have killed her off if it wasn't for me jumping in and pulling her away from there in time. It still fell on us, but I wasn't worried about it.

Part because my body is too tough to be really wounded by just this much, and the most part being because Komaeda was here and his bullshit sacred gear made him lucky enough that his 'symbol of hope' was not injured from the start.

And look and behold it worked. After the dust settled down every single robber was captured and I stood up with Maria, both of us without a single scratch.

This time Diodora's smile flattered a bit, he decided to exit quietly from the side from what I could see.

* * *

"Shit! It should have worked." Diodora ranted as he was walking to a side alley to get away from this place. He was so close, so freaking close, that he could almost feel what Maria would be like when she fell on his hands.

The depravity to corrupt someone that carried such holy aura and of such confidence being so stimulating that he could not stop imagining it.

"*Sigh* You never learn, do you?" a voice said from the side, making Diodora move quickly and prepare a blast of demonic powers. But before he could do anything. "You should really watch your steps more." a knife was on his neck.

Turning his eyes slightly Diodora saw one of the whores that followed that disgrace for the devil race that didn't know his place beneath his feet.

It was even a pawn. Just a slime AND a pawn, the definition of a weak species as far as Diodora was concerned.

Solution looked at him and saw how he showed haughtiness and disgust while looking at her even with a knife at neck point. He had no fear of anything bad happening to him, he believed himself untouchable.

She hated this, it was the same eyes that her late 'master' used on her and her friends. But, while true that she could not kill him, she could at least make him suffer for displeasing her men.

With this idea set, she pulled out a small needle, coated it with one of the many poisons that her body produced, and injected the worm.

"OUCH, why did you hurt me?! I will tell my big brother and he will have your head for it, do you hear me slut!" Diodora started screaming like the little bitch he was after getting a single needle shot, honestly speaking he was complaining and throwing more of a tantrum more than a baby taking their first shoots as far as Solution was concerned.

Looking at him Solution could only shake her head, how can the same parents produce a genius satan that was respected by all Pantheons for his strength and capacity also produce this trash that was no more than a whine evil baby. ANd not of the cute type like the ones she wanted to have with Joseph later in life.

"This is your punishment, don't worry everything will get better in just a few days, or weeks, maybe months? Who knows but it will end eventually." Solution said before disappearing back in the shadows. A soft chuckle leaving her lips.

"Tch, I will have my brother give me her head in a silver plate on of this days." Diodora said to himself before teleporting away.

* * *

"Is it done?" Joseph asked as he waited outside Maria's room. She was quite stressed out after her show have been ruined like this.

"Yes." A kneeling Solution said.

"Good, I knew I could count on you." Joseph replied with a soft smile. "Did you talk with Demiurge-sensei about those thieves?"

"Yes, I already talked to him and he said they would receive 'unfortunate accidents' and get into 'little fights' as soon as they reach prison. He also said that the members of the underground organizations he controls that are in jail are anxious to get some 'points' with him so you can expect creativity and efficiency on the mission." Solution said with Joseph not batting an eye with the knowledge he was sending those degenerates to their deaths.

As far as he was concerned they raised weapons against his Queen, and regardless of circumstances death was inevitable.

"Tell him that I appreciate his work and that I know that I can count on him." Joseph told Solution who nodded to his request. Generally, she was the one he trusted when it came to this sort of dealings as she had no problems with whatever action he decided to take and was discrete enough with what he said. "And which poison did you choose for him? Do you think it is enough of a deterrent for him to not do this again?"

"If it is strong enough I can only say that it is far from lethal, And I also cannot confirm if he will continue in his meaningless tentatives as he is just too far gone in his own delusions to listen or see anything that went against himself. But, this a poison that I know will affect him the most, one that he will remember for a LONG time to come." Solution said with an evil smile.

* * *

"WHY DON'T YOU STAND UP!" a terrified Diodora said as he saw his 'main thinking head' refusing to stand up to the obligatory service.

Not a single move despite there being naked girls in front of him.

He now could only watch, nothing more.

* * *

 **Writer's Note:**

 **A reviewer by the name of allentey made a review telling me how this story was getting complicated to follow as there are too many characters from other stories besides DxD. To remedy that I decided to make this list with characters and from where I caught the idea to make them:**

 **\- Aura, Mare, Solution, Narberal, Entoma, Demiurge, Sebastian (Overlord)**

 **\- Jeremiah (Code Geass);**

 **\- Caesar, Mansherrie (One Piece);**

 **\- Lo'lo (Magi);**

 **\- Philluffy (Saijaku no Bahamut);**

 **\- Haineko (Bleach);**

 **\- Mukuro, Sakura, Ishimaru (Taka), Byakuya, Fukawa Toko (Danganronpa Trigger Havvoc);**

 **\- Peko, Komaeda, Nidai, Mikan (Super Danganronpa 2);**

 **\- Munakata, Chisa (Danganronpa 3)**

 **\- Gonta (Danganronpa V3);**

 **\- Chriss, Maria (Senki Zesshou Symphogear);**

 **-Kasper Hekmatyar (Jormungand);**

 **Those are the extra characters I wrote until now, there will be more but not many, most will only be mentioned, as if they were 'easter eggs' so to say.**

 **If anyone has never seen a character you can try taking a look at the wiki since all of them have their pages and they all have well-defined appearances if you are to be curious.**


	19. Chapter 19

"What did you tell me yesterday again? Could you repeat it?"

"That I would be going on a mission and that is why I might be a bit late today."

"BULLSHIT!" Sona shouted at me while almost shoving a magazine at my face. On the cover is an image of me protecting Maria as the thieves tried to attack her show, it even had in bold big words 'The Ultimate Genius guarding his Queen', they even had an image of me holding a sign above my head that read 'Maria is the number ONE Queen' while surrounded by roses. "You were in NO mission last night, you went to see a show and was willing to get here late just to spend more time there. What do you have to say in your defense?"

I looked at her, then at the magazine, then back at her before tilting my head and saying.

"Where are my royalties at? I want money for this picture or I will sue this magazine for everything it is worth it." I said, and I mean it.

My image is not something that some magazine somewhere can just use dilly dally like this. I was not asked if I allowed for the use of my image like this, if I just let some magazine use it this time who knows when paparazzi will start showing up in my house and follow me around, my family worked hard to sue every single unauthorized use of my image to make using it be seen as a financial nightmare (if not actual life dangerous as some of the yakuza and mafias under my family may or may not be involved in the disappearance of some of the most dedicated paparazzi around) and I will NOT let their hard work be compromised.

However, this is not the main reason as to why I am pissed. No, the reason is much simpler.

Why didn't they at least took a shot from my better angle? My triumphant smile barely appears and the lightning is all wrong and hides part of my face.

Seeing my reaction Sona was speechless, but among the others in the room weren't all like her.

"I understand of where you're coming from." Byakuya commented. "I too have to deal with those annoying pests called paparazzi. Growing up and putting pressure on them to make them fully give up following me was no easy task. Then again, that's easier than getting rid of this filthy, smelly thing." he finished, scowling to the spectacled girl on his side.

"Hehe, Biakuya-sama talked to m-me." Fukawa said with a perverted giggle while twirling her fingers.

"HAHAHAHAHA, THIS IS THE SPIRIT! KNOW WHAT YOU WANT AND MOVE TOWARDS IT IS WHAT A MAN SHOULD DO!" Nidai said in the middle of loud laughter.

"I understand where you are coming from, but you should be more honest with your friends, Joseph-sama. Sona-kaichou would have understood if you had explained what you were going to do." Sakura said with a soft smile, quite the contrast to her appearance that gave her the nickname Ogre.

"I-I-I think so t-t-t-too." Mikan said on the side, but when I turned to look to her she showed a frightened face before saying. "I am s-s-sorry."

Sigh, she truly is a scared cat about most things.

Meanwhile, Tsubaki did not bother to comment about what I said or what was happening, focusing instead on completing the paperwork that the rest of the student council was failing to complete. Looking at the pile of paper for her to do she honestly regretted not trying to make Sona putting more emphasis on looking for more simple and hardworking people on the peerage. While true that the peerage was considerably powerful they were FAR from what anyone could say an exemplary student council should be.

Another presence that was missing was Taka, he was patrolling the halls for whatever reason. No one asked him to, but no one could stop him from trying to make the students to follow the rules.

Following that discussion, which Sona knew was useless from the start as I would still do the same on any other day and she knew it, I simply talked to Sona for a while more. Part to know if everything is going alright and if she was still going strong on her chess challenges so as to make sure she was not going to be getting married any time soon (one friend being in a bad spot was already enough for me), but the most important is to ask her something else.

"Sona-tan," her eyebrow twitched when I said that, and yet she said nothing against it as she knew that I could beat her in chess and she was not interested in me, I agreed to not ask her on a game if she allowed me to call her whatever I felt like it. "Did you manage to talk to that boy you said you wanted to add? Saji from the second year, right?"

She nodded her head and said.

"Yes, I had a productive talk with him yesterday and he agreed to be part of my peerage. I added him last night but asked him to remain home for today so as to get used with the changes to his body. I put a teleportation magic circle with him in case he was to be attacked."

Impressive, this will help cement the image that she is protective and gives freedom to her peerage while also making him see her as a source of protection, earning gratitude from Saji. Sona truly is a smart and cunning girl.

"Good, I still haven't found anyone to fill in those empty slots of mine, but I am glad that you managed to find someone to fill in another of yours. And, what piece is he?" I commented.

"He is a pawn, a new mutation pawn." She answered.

"Nice."

Following that, we talked for a while more and I left the room. I still have classes to go anyway. Also, I must see if Issei was already asked out by Raynare, if only to confirm if canon was already upon us.

* * *

And, unsurprisingly, finding out if he was asked on a date was stupidly simple.

Reason? Well, the goofy grin on his face as he almost danced with every step of the way was a dead giveaway. His friends letting tears of blood down their faces while muttering all sorts of curses to him being another.

But the final one, well...

"Hey, damn Ikeman, I got a date later today and you don't! What do you think of me now?" Issei said while glaring provokingly at me and Komaeda, who were previously talking about whatever came to our heads, or my head because his head is pretty much filled with HOPE and who represents it, with a small dose of Nabe on the side of his mind but mainly it is HOPE.

I looked at Issei, memories of what will happen on his date and, reason behind it, and his excitement with going to his death, I can only look at him with pitying eyes and say.

"Good luck."

He looked confused when I said this, if his opened eyes and hanging mouth was any indication, but he then came back to his cocky attitude and continued.

"Of course I will have good luck, it is only logical after something so good happened to me. This is how my exciting life starts, Hahahaha!" He then proceeded to go away, but after no more than a few steps he trips in nothing and falls down right on top of Mikan, Sona's bishop.

The two roll in the ground and when he picked himself up he saw her in an EXTREMELY compromising position, her boobs in his hand and all.

"I-I-I-I'm so sowwyy!" Mikan cried with tears in her eyes, probably blaming herself for the fall. She's way too fidgety and easy to freak out after all.

Looking at her attractive face that almost screams for someone to take care of her Issei's nose started to bleed, especially when he felt her ample breasts on his hand, but, this feeling was promptly forgotten a fraction of a second later as a wave of killing intent washed over him.

Very slowly he turned to look behind him and he froze in terror of what he saw.

"What are you doing with my friend?" Sakura said, her eyes almost shining red and her veins on her muscles bulging upwards as she tried to hold herself back on punching/killing the young pervert.

Jumping in recognition he instantly entered in a dogeza position and started apologizing to Sakura.

Unfortunately, she sad just a few words to finish all his hopes.

"Come with me, we must have a talk." And started walking to somewhere else so as to not cause a scene. Issei dropped his head in resignation, he knows that running away now will be ineffective and will only result in a 'bad ending' for him. His two friends started snickering while also spotting nose bleeds from what they just saw, "And you two as well." Sakura said while pointing to the rest of the perverted trio, making them all fear what would happen in the foreseeable future.

Seeing their defeated forms like this I released a little laugh while looking at Komaeda who had that knowing smile of his while shaking his shoulders. It is possible that he still hasn't forgiven Issei, and to be fair challenging luck in front of Komaeda is a fool's errand.

"Ara ara, they seem excited as always, don't you think so Joseph-sama?" A woman's voice said from my back.

I turned to look at her and with a small smile, I said.

"Yeah, and I doubt they ever will actually learn, Akeno-chan." I said to Akeno Himejima, Rias' queen and an old acquaintance of mine. I never really talked or related much to her, not because I dislike her or anything but more because she is a half-fallen angel and my father hates her and most of the race to the bone due to his own father's death. My father won't actively move to kill them, but he never lets any fallen pass by his territory unless it is a direct order from the government, and even then said fallen sometimes just happens to 'disappear' in the way and is never seen again. A fact that curiously happens more often when the fallen was involved in the battle that took away grandpa's life.

My father is a nice enough person, a compassionate leader, and a renowned general that protect the borders of the Devil's territory from all of those who want to invade us, but there is a reason for someone as evil as Demiurge to continue following him and it isn't just because of power.

"I can agree with that." She said. "But changing subjects would you know where Mukuro-chan is? We had agreed to eat lunch together and I can't seem to find her."

"Oh, she said that she would be going to the old school building. You two probably just missed each other." I told her. In the end, Mukuro and Akeno are quite good friends, I would be hard pressed to say who is the best friend of Akeno at this point, Rias or Mukuro.

"Okay, thank you very much Joseph-sama." Akeno said, earning a nod from Komaeda. He liked when others treated me with respect, or to hear the words 'Joseph-sama', who knows really what passes in the mind of this nut job of a bishop that I have.

She was just about to leave when a thought struck me and I said.

"Oh, and please tell Rias that a crow is getting too close to the pie she was looking forward to. She should really make sure that nothing goes wrong."

Akeno looked serious when I said that, but it was only for an instant before she went right back to normal and followed her way.

At least now it is more certain that Issei will get out of this alive (sort of), but just as a guaranteed, I will send someone to watch over him from a distance if only to make sure he doesn't just die on me like that.

Satan knows that he is necessary for what is to come, especially when the evil dragon invasion happens; it will be necessary to have as many useful personals to deal with it as possible due to how widespread the damage and attacks will be.

* * *

On the way home after school, I saw Issei going on his date with Raynare, a badly positioned card with the Gremory symbol in his pocket that was visible to anyone paying attention.

Seeing this I decided that some extra security would do well, just to make sure they were incompetent enough to not even try and remove Issei's sacred gear and choose to kill him instead.

Turning my head a bit I decided who I should send this time.

Discretion is needed, but I know that Solution has many things to do right now. Maybe Caesar could work, but I don't trust him to do a decent job without supervision. In the end, she probably is my best option.

"Ento-chan, would you do me a favor." I asked Entoma who was right beside me, singing happily while chewing on some gum.

"Sure can, onii-sama." She said happily.

"I want you to watch over Issei, just to make sure he doesn't end up kidnapped or that someone tries to steal his sacred gear. If they just kill him there won't be a reason to worry, he already has Rias' summoning call in hand so she would appear to resurrect him regardless." I told her, who nodded happily before moving to an alley and releasing a few bugs in the air stealthily.

If I am not wrong these are Satellite flies, they are a special type of bug that can transfer images and sound between each other and the main host, which in this case is Entoma herself.

She was someone that could be a jack-of-all-trades, her skill set due to her insects is just that diverse after all.

After the insects flew away she approached me and said.

"Onii-sama, don't worry. I will look after him." And with that, she took off.

I now am much more at peace with myself. I am pretty sure that she can handle anything these guys can throw at her and I honestly doubt Rias would leave Issei without someone to watch over him. If I were to bet I would say Koneko, or maybe the Sasuke rip-off.

Now, I still have things to do tonight. Mainly practice some techniques I am trying to develop and try to write a novel that can beat Fukawa's novel.

I NEED to beat her on this, otherwise, Maria won't be my Queen.

* * *

Later that same day Issei was walking with 'Yuma' after having the date. It was probably the best day of Issei's life, he played on the game center with the girl, eat together, talked a lot, walked on a park, and now the date was just about to end.

They approached a fountain, it was a beautiful scene on the moonlight, if only a bit empty due to the lack of other people around.

"Issei, this was such a nice day. Thank you." 'Yuma' said, a warm smile on her face.

Issei smiled back, liking everything that was happening.

"Yeah, I liked today too." Issei said.

"Hey, Issei. Would you do a favor for me?"

"Anything." Issei said, trying to sound cool while ignoring the dreadful feeling permeating the air.

"Would you die for me?" She said, shredding her 'nice girl' persona for a more 'mature' form. Her clothes exploded while revealing skimpy body armor that would not be found anywhere except in eroges, black wings on her back and a mocking smile on her face.

Before Issei could react she created a light spear and pierced his stomach, the hole in his guts big enough for a volleyball to pass through.

Issei fell to the floor, agony on his face as he cried in pain while looking at 'Yuma' who was laughing at him.

"Does it hurt? It does, doesn't it? Well, too bad for you. If you want to blame someone blame God for putting that weak sacred gear in you. If it was actually stronger you wouldn't have to die like this, hahaha." 'Yuma', no, the fallen angel Raynare, laughed mockingly.

Issei could not understand what she was talking about, his pain just too big for him to really understand anything right now.

After this Raynare felt a presence approaching, a devil of considerable power. She was not willing to be seen anywhere close to a dead human by a devil, if only to deny her involvement after all this still was devil's territory.

A few moments later Entoma approached the place, she was not there to save Issei but to make sure the fallen angel escaped. Making sure that the fallen angel had left Entoma decided to hide, fearing that Issei might look at her and not wish for 'someone' to come and save him. She did, however, call for her onii-sama as he might want to know.

And lo and behold, a few moments later the summoning paper on Issei lit up and Rias surged.

"So you were the one who called me. Well, if you are dying, then I'll pick it up. Your life that is. From now, you will live for me." Rias said before taking out her vacant pieces, one of the mutational pawns shining brightly.

"I guess you are a pawn after all." Rias mused, she did wonder which piece would best fit him and she was betting on pawn anyway.

After the process was completed she raised him up, preparing to move him to his home for treatment when.

"Please don't tell me you were planning on lying down with him naked to heal him." Joseph's voice came from the side. He had heard his surrogate little sister's message and teleported here quickly, he knew how things would turn out but it was just then that he remembered of THIS specific detail.

He had NO desire for Issei to lay down naked with his woman, no desire AT FUCKING ALL.

"Well, how else should I treat him? You know I don't exactly have a healer on my peerage so this was the best next option." Rias rebuked.

"You could have simply brought him to me. I would heal him quickly and free of charge." Joseph countered back.

"But he is my peerage member, I should be the one helping him." Rias pouted, she did not like when Joseph talked against her ideas, especially those she considered good ones.

"And you are one of the girls I love and I have no desire to see you naked in bed with someone else." And with that Rias started blushing to the point that her face and hair got the same tone.

"T-T-This doesn't have anything to do with this case. It is just some skin contact and he will at most see me naked, you know Kiba saw me like this more than once and never cared about it." Rias refuted, but even she knew that she did not have any support on this defense if it could even be called defense in the first place.

"I don't care about Kiba because he is probably as asexual as they come. Heck, I am sure that he only thinks of revenge and holy swords right now so I have nothing to worry about. Issei, on the other hand, is a different ball altogether. I do NOT want him looking at you naked, at least not until I had some 'talks' with him about 'limits'."

"You will NOT threaten my peerage members." Rias said while pointing at me.

"Sure I won't." Joseph said. "I will just explain to him that if he ever tries to go after you or anything improper I will ask Komaeda to stop restraining his sacred gear so much when it comes to Issei."

That little tidbit gave Rias a shiver down her spine. In the end, she knew somehow how terrifying Telos Karma was, this was one gear that could easily create quite the disaster.

She wouldn't even be surprised if a meteorite fell from the sky and hit Issei 'just because'.

"*Sigh* Okay, let's go to your home." Rias relented.

Joseph smiled at it and with that the two left the place. They had to go and heal Issei fast as he was still losing blood, not that it would be such a big problem if he lost blood for a while longer.

Devil magic and sacred gears are BS after all.

* * *

 **Writer's Note:**

 **I saw in the reviews that some of you readers are having dificulty in following who is on what peerages, so I decided to write down their names, positions in the peerage, and from where I got them to make it easier for you readers to get it. I hope this helps.**

 **Joseph's Peerage:**

 **Queen - Maria Eve (Still isn't his queen/ Senki Zesshou Symphogear);**

 **Rook 1 - Chris Yukine (Senki Zesshou Symphogear);**

 **Rook 2 - Lo'lo (Magi);**

 **Bishop 1 (mutation) - Komaeda Nagito (Super Danganronpa 2);**

 **Bishop 2 - ?**

 **Knight 1 - Peko Pekoyama (Super Danganronpa 2);**

 **Knight 2 - ?**

 **Pawn 1** **(mutation)** **\- Narberal Gamma (Overlord);**

 **Pawn 2** **(mutation)** **\- Solution Epsilon (Overlord);**

 **Pawn 3** **(mutation)** **\- Entoma Zeta (Overlord);**

 **Pawn 4** **(mutation)** **\- Haineko (Bleach);**

 **Pawn 5 (mutation) - Ceasar Clown (One Piece);**

 **Pawn 6 - Mukuro Ikusaba (Danganronpa);**

 **Pawn 7** **(mutation) - ?**

 **Pawn 8** **(mutation) - ?**

 **Rias' Peerage:**

 **Queen - Akeno;**

 **Rook 1 - Koneko:**

 **Rook 2 - Gonta Gokuhara (Danganronpa V3);**

 **Bishop 1 - Gasper;**

 **Bishop 2 - ?**

 **Knight 1 - Kiba;**

 **Knight 2 - ?**

 **Pawn 1** **(mutation) - Issei;**

 **Pawn 2** **(mutation) - ?**

 **Other pawns are normal and still unclaimed;**

 **Sona's Peerage:**

 **Queen - Tsubaki;**

 **Rook 1 - Sakura Ogami (Danganronpa);**

 **Rook 2 -Nidai Nekomaru (Super Danganronpa 2);**

 **Bishop 1 - Mikan Tsumiki** **(Super Danganronpa 2);**

 **Bishop 2 - ?**

 **Knight 1 - Fukawa Toko/Genocider Sho (Danganronpa);**

 **Knight 2 - ?**

 **Pawn 1** **(mutation) - Togami Byakuya (Danganronpa);**

 **Pawn 2 (mutation) - Kyotaka Ishimaru (Danganronpa);**

 **Pawn 3 (mutation) - Saji;**

 **Other pawns are unclaimed as of yet.**

 **This is a list for peerages until this point in the story, the places with marks of '?' means that I still haven't revealed who exactly is going to be in the said position. Whenever I add a new character to these lists I will repost this list with the modifications necessary, if you have ideas you are welcome to send me them but be warned that I may not follow them if A (I already have someone else planned for the position) or B (Your character is from some anime or game I have never played or watched).**

 **And for those who think Rias' reaction to not thinking much about Issei seeing her naked, remember that on the first volume of CANON she didn't mind it even though she wasn't in love with him at the time.**

 **Also, Joseph may have been to calculative in his approach towards Issei's imminent death, but it was a necessary movement. Ultimately he wants Issei to get as strong as possible as he knows he could be useful for the times to come, and if he stayed human or uninvolved it might lead to complications down the road. Besides, if he stopped it and had to wait for Rias to move b herself to convince him who knows how long it was going to take, he is on a tight schedule and needs Issei to get as strong as possible as fast as possible.**

 **It was cold but necessary move, one that he would have no regrets about.**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Follow, favorite, and review as much as possible as it is with the reviews that I try to adjust the story.**


	20. Chapter 20

After healing the young pervert I had some time on my hands. I could have gone to rest, or maybe go enjoy my time by sculpting or doing something else, but I have something else planned for tonight. Deliver a warning of sorts, at least to make sure that Issei doesn't suffer a second attack in the name of 'we were too stupid to know the obvious', after all, expecting that ANYONE would believe that someone supposedly dead was reborn as a devil INSIDE a devil's territory would have no relationship with the current owners of this city is absurd.

It just didn't escalate then and there because Rias in canon was probably too worried about maintaining the peace in detriment to the fact that no one would start a war because some weaklings got themselves killed by being way over their heads and too cocky for their own good.

Now, who do I take with me to go 'sightsee' some crows?

I could go with everyone from the peerage, but I think it would be Overkill and they might decide to attack us or outright run away.

It would be bad if they actually run away, I want Asia to come here and, unless I or one of my associates manage to intercept her before she meets with the fallen angels, it is better to have her come to this town.

I want to provide Rias with as many pieces for her match against Riser as just the image of him using his dirty hands to touch her is too much. Besides, having another person capable of healing close by is not a bad idea at all.

I would rather not have to bleed every time someone needs to heal around me.

Well, I suppose I should take Peko-chan at the very least. She would give me the 'stinky eye' if I don't do that, even if she would deny she is doing it. She was already quite annoyed that she didn't go with me on my latest visit to Palestine. She was quite big on the whole bodyguard thing, no changing her mind at all there, so that I 'risked' myself without her around isn't something she liked at all.

Who else, who should I take too? … I could take Caesar but he is in the middle of some research right now so it is a no go. Most of the others are either busy or have their own things to do tonight. I think maybe Narberal and Entoma, perhaps they would like to go terrorize some fallen.

And I will also take Phillufy, a dragon will REALLY make those small fry register my message. And taking her there is easy, I just need to promise to go on a date with her one of these days or buy her some candies and give it to her directly.

* * *

Approaching the church I could sense the holy aura in the air, and it isn't anything much. I mean, compared to entering an ACTIVE church or even be close to an Excalibur fragment gives off way more holiness than this. And I do have first-hand experience with holy energy, which isn't hard considering how I went more than once to Milan and Italy, which is dangerously close to the center of the church.

I even remember having to walk in on Peko finishing off a few hot-blooded exorcists that tried to kill me for the 'sin of existing'. It is ironical how I being a devil probably saved and helped more people than these jerks, I mean there was even one that thought of killing me by shooting me in the middle of a crowd! What if he hurt anyone innocent?

Well, he was killed off later by Peko (I didn't know a person could be cut down in slices that thin before that, living and learning) so I guess that is that.

Anywho, as I approached the church the other three were right beside me. Peko and Narberal are a bit tenser as they are prepared to attack or secure an escape route if needs be, but Phi-chan isn't showing any worry whatsoever.

She is really a 'my pace' kind of girl.

"And what do we have here? A shitty devil and a group of shittier devil ladies? Hey, hey, would you mind dying for me? It has been far too long since I killed anyone and this is soo boorinng. Kakakakaka." A voice said from close by as a man in priests clothes appeared in front of us. He had a handsome face that was ruined by his actions and his overall shamelessness, after all, he is showing his tongue in a way that Fukawa's other side would be proud while also being way into trying to act as obscene as possible.

Yep, this is Freed Sellzen there is no doubt there.

"Out of the way of my master, we don't have time to play with your type of an insignificant worm." Narberal said while stepping forward. She started to release some thunder around her which quickly enough called the fallen angels and the stray exorcists to this area.

Looking at all of them I can honestly say that they are of higher quality than I thought before. Nowhere near enough to injure me, but enough to be somewhat of a challenge to Rias' group. And strangely enough, I can feel some strange energy signatures inside these fallen angels and Freed, considering how they are most certainly pure fallen angels and Freed in CANON did not have a sacred gear I can suppose one of two things.

They either already managed to steal a few sacred gears or they are associated with Ophis somehow and received one of her snakes, but considering how they are most certainly not special enough to earn one of those or relevant enough on the grand scheme of things I doubt they are using Ophis' snakes.

This means that it is quite likely that this group already managed to steal some sacred gears before, which isn't particularly hard to believe considering how there are quite a lot of those out there and the fallen angels are usually a few hundred years old at the youngest.

"What do you want, bat?" A buxom woman with long wavy blue hair asked, if memory serves me right she is Kalawarmer. She was the only one without a weapon out so I suppose she was more level-headed than the others here.

"I want to advise you about one thing. Your group invaded a devil's territory that was received straight from the Shinto faction, not only that but you also killed a sacred gear user in the said territory while ignoring to inform any devil involved about your reasoning. This can be seen as an act of aggression, so I came here to inform you to not do anything else unless given authorization and to leave this town as soon as possible." I said to them.

"Humph, we are here under Azazel-sama's orders. Why should we care if you give us YOUR authorization or not?" Raynare asked, her spear aimed straight at me.

"Because I said so." I said dismissively.

"And who are YOU to tell us what to do? As far as we know only the Gremory and Sirti heiresses would have any sort of authority in this town and I see neither of them with you." Raynare asked, her aggressive nature is even more out as she seems one step away from TRYING to run me over with her spear.

Trying being the main word here, no way she was going to get pass Peko-chan or Narberal.

"I am Joseph Barbatus."

And just like that, the tension rose to a WHOLE new level.

I cannot express enough how the Barbatus family is hated amongst the fallen angels, my grandpa exterminating so many of them alone and my father eliminating every single one that even approached devil's territory REALLY marked us as their enemy.

But, I also know that they will not attack me. They are not stupid enough to do that after my peerage and I showed our worth on the last few demon invasions were we eliminated every single one that came with extreme prejudice.

Good times.

"I just came here to warn you all, don't do anything stupid. Oh, and you must not touch even a single devil in this town, even if you think they are a stray or something like that. If there is any stray me and my peerage will deal with it, not you lot." I finished and was just about to leave when two 'smart' stray exorcists tried to shoot my back.

I didn't even bother to avoid or defend myself, there would be no point in doing that.

CUT

CUT

The two light bullets were cut down by Peko so fast that no one could even see her move. Her sword was so sharp that even energy could be cut down easily. Her talent with the blade is probably the highest level possible, cutting energy of this level with a simple sword is simple.

Peko didn't even need to attack these stupid priests as a thunder strike hit one of them originating from Narberal stretched hand and the other one was shot down by a blast of fire from Phi-chan's mouth.

It was over before it even started, it wasn't even a fight, and the others could only look terrified as I continued to walk away without a care in the world.

With this, it was quite likely that Issei would not be attacked again before he was properly introduced to the devil society that he is now a part of.

This at least makes it more likely for him to survive.

Sigh, trying to avoid landmines is harder than I thought. And I also need to know what sacred gears these clowns have, even if only to make sure that they will not be able to pose a threat to me or the others (which is almost impossible for them).

* * *

After getting home I decided to work on a new painting. I got the idea of this one while on my last contract, seeing those children fighting to survive just as there were those who caused pain but also looked for life anyway.

It was a terrible scene, but one that showed humanity's despair and hope

A wondrous unique scene, it was terrible and wonderful at the same time. I will immortalize this feeling with this new painting of the place where death ravages but life continues to thrive.

After working on it for the last few hours I left for school, I still have to make sure that Issei is okay and inform Rias and Sona of my little 'excursion' to the fallen angel's base and for them to be careful. I don't think they would ever lose to those guys, but it is best to inform them just to be safe.

* * *

By the end of the day, I see that the weekend had started. That means I have some free time... or not.

I still have to take Rias to Akihabara tomorrow evening and I also have to go meet my contracted magician tonight for the magical studies.

Saying my goodbyes to most of the others I asked for Mukuro and Hainekou to watch over Issei in turns. Rias will probably not like it that I am getting myself too involved with her peerage member, but I did tell her earlier today that I understand that she wants to give him some time to adapt to his new body so I would look after him just to make sure nothing happens as I don't want to see her sad in case something happens to her peerage member.

She huffed a bit and probably will be sending someone to watch over him too, but she did not adamantly refuse my idea so I consider this a win. It is probably because she knows my peerage has those who are much more capable of stealth than her peerage.

Anyway, this is for them to take care off. I am confident that those two can handle this easily enough, and it is more of a precaution than anything else as I believe that those four are not stupid enough to try and cross me.

Teleporting to the underworld I appear in the middle of a dense forest. There is not a single sound as I move forward, all my senses raised to the absolute limit.

I WILL NOT be caught unprepared this time aro-

"Guess who?" A girl's voice said from my back as two hands covered my eyes.

I guess I really can't win against her, huh.

"Humph, if you wanted to make me not see that it is you, you would need to do much more than this Aura." I said while removing the hands on my eyes.

Turning around I see Aura Bella Fiore, a happy grin on her face as her brother was right beside her. Mare, in contrast to his sister, was clearly nervous and uncomfortable as he adjusted his dress. They both look around 12 years old, the elf race grows slower than the devil-kind after all.

He probably was dragged to do this by Aura as she was always quite more playful than him. But I ought to say, these two really like to cross-dress.

Aura wears reddish-black dragon scale leather covered by a white and gold vest embroidered with the sigil of her clan. Below it, she has a matching set of white trousers and gold plated shoes, and around her neck is an acorn necklace emitting golden light. She is equipped with a whip around her waist and a giant, decorated bow on her back. Meanwhile, Mare wears a blue dragon scale leather full body suit, covered by a white and gold vest embroidered with the sigil of her clan and a forest green-leaf cloak. Below, he has a matching short white skirt exposing his thighs, and on his neck is an acorn necklace emitting silver light. His slender hands are donned with shiny white silk gloves wields a twisted black wooden staff.

"How are you two doing?" I asked as we started talking for a bit.

"All fine, just a little bored that's all." Aura says. "Over here everything remains mostly the same, I mean yes we do have some fun when fighting monsters and everything but there isn't anything exciting to do."

"I-I agree with sis. Over here there isn't much to do." Mare complemented Aura's comment. "And on the surface, how is it?"

I grinned and started telling the two a bunch of stories about the human world and what I did there. The two liked it very much, especially Aura since her eyes were almost sparkling when she hear my descriptions.

Next, I started discussing with Mare about magic as he is my contracted magician. It was quite an interesting talk, his ideas on druidic magic were quite interesting and potentially useful for me even if I was not all that great with this area of magic. Nonetheless, I started trying to use this knowledge to see if I can get any inspiration on how to improve on other areas. In the end, all different schools of magic are connected one way or another so learning more on different types can help me go further on the ones I usually use.

Why else would anyone bother learning more than one school if not for that? And where would they find time to learn all of them if they had no relation to one another?

Afterward, it was me and Mare strolling in the woods and checking out her familiars. She had a bunch of different familiars as she was a beast tamer, and one of the best as far as I know.

There are not that many who can domesticate frost dragons, giant drill headed bird, giant snake-tailed chameleon, and many other strong creatures. Honestly, some of those are quite similar to the ones that Pain had in Naruto, and that is one scary thought.

Overall, it was a good night.

* * *

In Kuoh a young man was walking in the streets, he was doing that just to relieve some stress as he was quite irritated and confused with what was happening.

Issei remembered Yuma quite clearly, he remembered how he had a date with her, how she transformed into a bird woman of sorts and how she killed him.

And yet, there he was. Safe and sound, not a single evidence of anything having happened.

It just didn't make any sense. And to make matters worse no one seemed to remember Yuma, no matter who he asked the answer was always the same. His friends even called him crazy, Issei really could not understand what was going on with everything.

Heck, he even felt terrible during most of the day and it was only now at night that he started feeling well again.

"Now what do we have here?" a male voice said from above Issei. As he turned to look he saw a middle-aged-men wearing a trench coat and a fedora. "To find a devil wandering around, and one I don't recognize at that, from what household are you from?"

Issei could only stare at the man, or to be more specific at the wings on his back, and feel a wave of terror. He was the same as Yuma, and the last time he saw someone having those wings his guts felt a bit too 'windy' afterward.

He was getting the same feeling from this man, no it was even worse from him.

And so, Issei did the correct thing.

He turned around and ran like crazy.

Dohnaseek looked unimpressed, he was flying and was stronger than the boy, by nature he would be able to easily catch up. The problem was that he knew that this boy was probably the reason for Joseph's warning and killing the kid would be quite dangerous for him.

But, he also had a unique 'idea'. If he could provoke Joseph to come to the church he could spring a trap on him, killing off the Barbatus child. This would be an incredible achievement, one that he could feel proud forever and ever. He might even be made the aide of one of the Cadre!

And all would start by killing the running child in front of him.

How could Dohnaseek not take advantage of the situation then? He immediately launched himself, flying straight toward Issei while ignoring the eyes of a brown cat looking at him with disdain. The same disdain that someone shows for the fools.

For the suicidal fools.


	21. Chapter 21

"Run, run you little fool!" Dohnaseek laughed as he continued his chase after Issei. Seeing Issei running away desperately was giving Dohnaseek a thrill that feels exciting.

After continuing this game of cat and mouse for a while the two ended up back on the park where Issei was killed the night before. Recognizing this the color left Issei's face as he trembled a bit, the reality of what was happening now and what happened the night before mixing in his head and terror spreading throughout his body.

"What? Already tired of running away?" Dohnaseek said from above. His grim all the eviler as he created a light spear. "I guess we can call this poetic justice, you will die twice in the same place due to the same thing. Hahaha." And with that Dohnaseek launched the spear.

Issei tried to run but he tripped this instant due to sheer bad luck (somewhere else in town a young teen had just won some free soda, lucky him) and was incapable of dodging the approaching spear.

He closed his eyes, thinking that this was it.

'Goodbye my friends, my parents, my stash of porn, my OPPAI.' was what was passing through his mind, but the pain and death he expected never did arrive.

"You know," A woman's voice said behind him as the light spear was cut down to small fragments by a gust of wind. "I think my master was already explicit enough about his orders. You are not to touch this child or any other devil in this territory, I didn't think his order is that difficult to follow. What, is your birdie brain too small to understand?"

As Issei heard this he turned his head and could only stare at the woman behind him. Not only was she full of fur and with cat ears, but she also had a huge rack that he wished to dive in.

She saw him ogling her, and a smirk appeared on her face as she said.

"Look but do not touch. I already have someone, you know." She finished giving him a playful wink, but this moe sexiness was too much, Issei's nose started releasing quite some blood as he showed a face that almost screamed 'No regrets!'.

Seeing his reaction Hainekou felt like teasing him more, but there was something else that she had to take care off right now, meaning a nervous fallen angel that did not know what to do. His reaction was quite similar to a reindeer when startled, but it quickly was replaced by determination and superiority.

Dohnaseek believed he could take care of these two without a problem and fast, and if he could kill even more devils there was a larger chance of provoking the Barbatus brat into action. It sounded like a brilliant idea in his mind, he simply believed in the inherent superiority of the fallen angels and as such could not possibly lose.

With that Dohnaseek made to launch another light spear, but

CUT

DROP

His arm fell to the ground.

"GhAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH, MY ARM, MY FUCKING ARM!" Dohnaseek screamed in pain as blood fell from the stump that was now his shoulder. His left arm that was making the light spear was cleanly cut by one move by Hainekou's sacred gear.

"Did you really expect to attack me while being this slow?" Hainekou said while walking forward, Issei's attention divided between the fear he was feeling, terror from seeing someone's arm being cut off, and the sway of Hainekou's furry ass. But his attention was mostly on the ass.

Dohnaseek showed a crazed expression as his shadow on the ground elongated and from it, many creatures appeared. They all looked like a mix of a human with other animals and all were made of shadows.

Seeing this Hainekou recognized it quite easily.

'Huh, so he has a Night Reflection on him. Well, it could be worse I guess.' and so Hainekou started moving her hand extremely fast, the handle of her sacred gear making 'whoosh' sounds as the wind sliced the monsters easily enough.

However, when she finished disposing of the enemies there was no one there anymore. Dohnaseek escaped while also taking away the arm she had removed.

Sighing Hainekou decided to let it go. She knows that this gear is simply too good at running away and surviving so there wouldn't be any point to try and chase the enemy. This was probably one of the few true weak points of Joseph's peerage, there was no one good at chasing, scouting, and things like that.

"Come on big guy, let's get you home." Hainekou said while raising Issei from the ground. She was a bit frustrated with what just happened, but it could have been worse and the kid did survive so it wasn't that big of a deal that Dohnaseek escaped.

Issei had more than a thousand questions rolling in his mind, but Hainekou was not interested in answering him any time soon.

It was then that a magic circle appeared with the Gremory symbol on it, and from it Rias and Akeno came out. Both seemed to be ready for combat, but getting there all they saw was a scared Issei, a bored Hainekou, and a small puddle of blood.

"What is the meaning of this?" Rias asked, clear distress in her timbre.

"What 'happened' was that those idiotic fallen angels tried to kill your servant while ignoring my Master's orders." Hainekou said, before throwing Issei at Rias. "Now that you are here he is your responsibility, good luck."

And with that Hainekou teleported away. She was already bored and tired of this place, she would go home and enjoy some good old cat nap. Maybe even play with herself a bit before her Master arrived and then she would 'play' with him.

What? She was not some innocent pure girl and she knew what she liked to do to blow some steam.

Issei looked as confused as someone could be, Rias saw this and realized that she should have talked to him before. Waiting was not doing him any favors, and if it put his safety in risk she would fix it.

Tomorrow.

"Issei, I know you are confused but don't worry. Everything will be fine, tomorrow morning come to the Occult Research Club room we will explain everything to you then." And with that Issei passed out cold. Akeno was in the back, a magic circle in hand as she finished putting the boy to sleep.

He needed to rest and Rias also needed to plan things out carefully enough. He already died, almost died, and watched a fight of someone from her boyfriend's peerage.

He had seen more than enough blood for his comfort.

* * *

The next morning Issei woke up believing that everything he saw the night before was just a dream. It was all he could do to wrap his head over what he had seen.

However, he really didn't have an option about if he could forget or not, especially considering the weird red bat flying on top of him holding a letter addressed to him.

Sweat rolling down his back he extended a hand and the bat left the letter on his hand before disappearing on a flash of crimson light.

Shaking his head Issei opened the letter despite all his instincts tell him otherwise.

'Don't forget to come to the Occult Research Club room, we will be waiting at 10 AM sharp.'

"So, that wasn't a dream?" Issei asked no one in particular. He was mostly shocked, especially when he turned to look at the clock and saw that it was 9 AM already and the school was half an hour away from his home.

He jumped out of bed, he had to get prepared and go. He had to get some explanations about what was going on, what was happening exactly.

He finished getting ready and took a quick breakfast, but in the end he still was running late when he left home as it was already 9:45 AM.

"I guess this is the only way, I don't know what will happen so getting late is not a good thing." Issei thought in his head. Well, he was also thinking if there would be any chicks there with great Oppai for him to look at. What? The only girls he had seen that seemed to know what was going on were all quite stacked, and he was hoping this trend would continue.

And so he decided to catch the one loyal friend he had, one that would accompany him for these next few months and be an essential part of his life.

His bicycle.

* * *

Getting there he saw the old school building. It was quite a bit macabre if anyone asked him, it honestly seemed one step away from collapsing in itself.

When he was about to enter he saw a huge shadow approaching him from the back.

'Oh, shit. I am so gonna die. I just hope someone destroys my PC without looking into it, at least to safeguard my good image.'was what passed through Issei's mind as he saw the shadow approaching.

However, the shadow was only a person. Someone that Issei disliked quite a bit, his number 5 on the 'most hated people in the campus', someone that coincidently didn't really think badly of Issei or was hated by anyone else EVER.

After all, who can possibly dislike him?

"Oh, so Rias-buchou was right! Gonta happy to see you us join, Issei!" The boy said before starting to lead/drag Issei inside. "Now let's go. Gonta gentleman so don't want to let Buchou and others wait. You too gentleman, right?"

Issei could only hastily nod his head. He disliked the guy quite a bit, partly because he was all about being a gentleman and thus interrupted him and his friends whenever they were 'enjoying the view, but the other part as to why he disliked Gonta was because he was a freaking Riajuu that managed to score with Entoma-chan, one of the three mascots from the academy.

Issei still had nightmares of how Gonta reacted when he caught Issei trying to spy on the first years changing clothes. A wall wasn't supposed to crumble from hand strength alone. Not at all.

And so Issei was led to a room in the second floor. It was actually surprising for him, despite the appearance the building had, it was surprisingly well cared for on the inside. He could feel that the wood may seem rotten but was quite sturdy and there was no dust in here.

Like this Gonta lead Issei to a room in the far corner, opening it Issei saw that a group of people was already there.

First was Koneko Toujo, one of the three mascots of the school. She had a delicate appearance that made one think of a doll upon seeing her, especially considering how she usually keeps a stoic facade at all times and her white hair did make her seem even more out of the norm and cute.

Next was Kiba, the bishounen that was number three on his 'most hated in the campus list'. He always had this 'knightly' feel to him, and considering how he was always fawned by a bunch of babes but never accepted their invitations while Issei had to live a life where the number of days he is without a girlfriend is equal to the number he is alive made it all the worse. But at least he was not like the number two Komaeda (the dude just gives Issei the creeps and Issei's luck is always the worse when around the man, and that is without mentioning how even that creep had scored a babe like Narberal), or the number one hated person, Togami Byakuya (just talk to the guy for ten seconds and anyone can understand from where Issei was coming from, and that is only if you MANAGE to talk with him for that long as he just might turn around and ignore you with a few choice words to insult either you or everyone close to you, most likely both)

Third was Akeno, the second Onee-sama from the school and a total bombshell. She had the biggest rack from the entire school, even if winning by a small margin against Rias Gremory. She had black hair in an extremely long ponytail that reached close to the floor and her eyes were a beautiful tone of purple.

She had a teasing smile gracing her lips as she saw Issei starring at her and taking a second longer on her boobs. She would take great pleasure in teasing the young man, a good change considering how Kiba was uninterested in anything that wasn't following what was requested of him or the Excalibur fragments, and the other boy from the group was Gonta, and he only had eyes for his girlfriend as a true gentleman.

And finally, the last person was the Great Onee-sama from the school, Rias Gremory. She was the most beautiful girl Issei has ever seen, her proportions were amazing and... Wait a sec why is she only in a towel?

Not that Issei was thinking it bad in any sort of way, he was only having a headache as he tried to praise God for giving him the chance to fest his eyes on this show.

"Sorry, but could you wait a second. I need to finish getting ready." Rias said with a wink, making Issei release blood from his nose.

'I am so happy for being alive right now!' was what passed through Issei's head.

And like this, the talk about devils and everything else Issei needed to know happened (A/N: I will not bother with writing this part down as it is exactly as it happened in canon, if you want to know it better just look at the anime, novel, manga, or almost any other fic of DxD)

* * *

It was later during the night that I managed to return home. Sheesh, Aura and Mare are way too excitable, the two wouldn't let me leave until we had nothing else to do.

But, honestly speaking it wasn't half bad. Aura wanted my help to travel through the forests there and try to find different monsters for her to tame and Mare discussed many different ways of using nature to his advantage in casting his druidic magic. Well, I also helped him in explaining my latest discoveries on magic and also made a new sculpture of the two. The two love my works and I honestly like doing sculptures for them.

Anyway, after all, that I returned home, a promise to go and see them again soon as otherwise the two simply wouldn't let me go. Those two really are quite childish sometimes, well, except when it comes to combat as the two are probably just as brutal as the people from my peerage.

"Guys, I am home!" I said as I entered the house. And just like that Peko appeared like a gust of wind circling around me, looking for any possible wound, scratch, and probably even dirt on my body.

I can never understand why she is always so worried about every little thing, I mean I heal disgustingly fast so it shouldn't matter that much even IF I were to get hurt. Besides, I am not that weak.

I mean, I even can use Toki to make my body tougher, and while not as strong as Sairaorg's it still helps me quite a bit.

"Calm down Peko-chan, I am just fine."

"No wounds, right?" she said while readjusting her glasses and pulling herself together.

"Of course, your master is not so weak." I said with confidence, making her relax somewhat. "Anyway, is everything alright with you? Did you get lonely when I was gone?" A cheeky grin has to be on my face as I saw Peko-chan's face reddening a bit.

She doesn't go as red as when we were kids but her reaction is still interesting and she still is incredibly beautiful in my eyes.

"I-I was just worried for your wellbeing, that is all." She said, turning her face away. So cute. "B-Besides worrying about her master is what a tool is supposed to do anyway."

"Okay, stop calling yourself a tool. I thought I explained this to you well enough before, you are my girlfriend, not a tool or whatever so don't call yourself that." I answered sternly. Sigh, why can't she stop calling herself that way? It isn't supposed to be that hard.

"Understood, young lord." She said emotionlessly. I guess this is as far as I can go, she has always been like this, as stubborn as an ox. No words I say will ever really get through to her head.

"Anyway, was everything alright while I was gone? Did anything happen?"

"Well, apparently those crows did not heed your order and attacked the pervert last night not long after you had gone to see Aura-sama and Mare-sama." Peko said with a finger on her chin.

"Is he okay?"

"Yes, no need to worry as Hainekou did take care of it. The pervert isn't wounded and Rias has had the talk with him earlier today according to Entoma who heard it from Gonta. Also, Hainekou's confirmed that the male fallen angel has the sacred gear Night Reflector so she could not capture or eliminate him." Peko explained.

Well, this already was quite different from CANON, none of the fallen angels should have a sacred gear so this was new but honestly not truly unexpected. This also means that they probably have more sacred gears amongst themselves so I will need to play it safe and watch out for what they will have in store, but honestly speaking I fully doubt they have something of the Longinus tier so it should be fine.

What I have to do now is talk with Rias and Sona about what happened and move in to eliminate them. But I must be the one to finish it as I still want the technology on how to remove and transplant a sacred gear from one person to another. This could be the key for me to win the championship on the young devil's gathering and, more importantly, beating whatever missions I have to do in the future. I don't want to suddenly fail a mission and lose my life, thank you very much.

* * *

 **Writer's Note:**

 **In case anyone is in doubt, Rias comes from a house full of exhibitionists and she herself is a bit of one. It doesn't mean anything that she lets others see her in this state, she just likes being watched. At least on my fic, she is a bit of a pervert in this meaning, but it doesn't mean she would open her legs for just about anyone. She was just teasing Issei, nothing more and nothing less.**

 **And, about the next few chapters. I will try to release them a bit faster. I have until chapter 37 done and ready so there is no need to delay it too much.**

 **Any questions, doubts, or suggestions can be placed in the review section. I look at every single one and always try to answer directly to the one asking as long as I can.**


	22. Chapter 22

"Gather everyone here in the morning, ask for Demiurge-sensei to investigate those fallen angels and learn what gears they have in their possession. Also, go and invite Rias and Sona plus their peerages to come here in the morning, tell them that it is urgent or I might just go pass their authority. This may be just a speculation right now but we need to deal with these fallen angels properly before something worse happens." I told Peko, who gave me a polite bow before leaving to execute my orders.

This may be absurd but we need to show a unified stance against these fallen angels, or at least be prepared in case they come to attack us.

Well, I at least have to act like this until Asia is brought here. I want her in Rias' peerage as she does help my girl a whole lot due to her healing, I don't want to see a wounded Rias after all, and Mukuro and Entoma would be sad if anything bad happens to those he cares about on Rias' peerage (but Kiba and his anti-Maria speech can go fuck itself for all I care).

Sigh, trying to make things better is so difficult. Why can't Asia get here already so as to let me go and end this idiotic situation?

If she arrived I could go there right now and kill all of them easily enough, but until then I must wait patiently and try to make sure no one gets hurt, especially Issei since he still is freaking weak right now.

"What are you brooding there for, master?" A sultry voice said close to my ears.

A shiver went down my back as I felt this woman's hot breath near my ear and neck.

Turning around I am greeted by a pair of beautiful cat-like brown eyes.

"Haineko-chan, you shouldn't do this right now." I said to her.

" And why not?" She continued to whisper, this time giving me a sexual lick on the neck as she embraced me. "Too tired to play with your pet?"

"No," I said before taking her feet out of the ground, one hand strategically positioned on her bubbly but "I just don't know if you will be able to walk in the morning if we do this." A smirk appeared on my face as she giggled and said.

"Challenge accepted."

* * *

When morning arrived I was covered in a layer of sweat, the last 5 hours were quite intense to the point that, at some point, Solution and Mukuro also came in the room (I probably made too much noise, or Haineko screaming did the trick) and we ended up enjoying ourselves fully.

Now I have three passed out girls twitching and with fucked silly faces on my bed and the guests are probably going to arrive in a few minutes.

Well, it is not like this sort of thing is that rare or new for me and devil-kind in general. We are a race that enjoys this sort of things and we do make harems quite easily.

As I look at these three wonders of nature I can only think that I most definitely am a lucky bastard. And I love every second of it.

"Joseph-sama, the guests have arrived." Peko said as she opened the door.

Normally, people would feel embarrassed seeing this scene, after all, there are three passed out women in the bed of a man that is standing there with as many clothes as when he was born, but Peko took it in stride. Well, this isn't exactly rare of an occasion (quite normal really) so it's understandable.

"Okay, I will get changed in the back. If you want to accompany me you are welcome." I said with a suggestive smile.

She continued stoically as she said.

"Please leave this sort of actions for when there aren't visits on the living room."

She isn't saying no, just a 'not now'.

With a smile on my face, I went inside to change clothes, I decided to try a new model I designed a few days ago. A silver and blue kimono with a big 'sun' in the back. It was quite comfortable and cool to use, plus I put a figure that looked like my sword spirit on top of the sun (a giant blue dragon that is covered in thick chains made of thunder and clouds), and under the sun is the figure of my ring spirit (a giant rodent like creature, with thick fur that looked like the earth was woven in swords and the used to cover the creature, and the monster was so big that even mountains are insignificant in front of it).

Wearing this made me feel quite good, maybe I could use this one more often.

After finishing getting dressed I went out of the bathroom and saw that the three girls were already dressed, how they can get dressed (and undressed) so fast is way beyond me.

Girl's secrets are powerful and mysterious indeed.

Seeing them all dressed up I nodded to them and left the room with them.

When we arrived in the living room we saw Rias and Sona's peerages, they were drinking tea and talking calmly… is what I want to say.

"YOU, WHAT WAY OF DRESSING IS THAT?! YOU SHOULD BE WEARING MORE FORMAL CLOTHING FOR THIS OCCASION!" Taka said/yelled at the top of his lungs at Lo'lo who was wearing… are that only tight shorts and a towel? Oh, he must have just woken up or was training, that would explain why.

"Shut up, loud mouth prey, this is my house and I can wear whatever I like!" Lo'lo countered.

"OH, THAT IS RIGHT! THIS WAS MY MISTAKE! I AM SORRY!" Taka bowed in apology, trying to test how much sound was needed to make the ear of others blow up.

"Do you serve this sort of unrefined garbage to your guests? Go and throw this to the pigs as only they could stomach such 'tea'" Togami said to Narberal who was one step away from frying him with a lightning magic.

"H-Humph, t-t-this place is too big! Why does that idiot need such a mansion anyway?" Fukawa said in a mix of disgust and paranoia, which is more normal than not when it comes to her.

"Say that again, bitch, and I will blow you in way too many pieces to count." Chris told Fukawa while releasing quite the glare.

"I still can't believe so many hot chicks are here." Saji said to no one in particular as he continued to look from one corner of the room to the other, trying to look at all the girls here.

"Y-Yeah, this ought to be paradise." Issei said while he too looked at all the girls around, stopping a moment longer in Mikan, a look of worry on his face. He then looked at my direction and the girls that were entering here with me. "Hey, are they okay? They seem to not be able to walk normally for some reason."

I can honestly say that I definitely did not show a smug smile when I heard that, no sir no matter what others would tell me later I definitely did not smile at work well done.

"Yeah, they are fine. It isn't anything new for this to happen," I said, making Rias raise an eyebrow at this.

She is quite the complex chick, she can be super chill most of the time about me having a harem but she also gets jealous quite easily. Maybe it is lack of confidence in herself since we never went further than kissing before, not like there was ever a choice considering that she has spells on her to warn her family if she were to lose her virginity or be involved in any sexual activity.

Cockblock from another dimension, it is just that bad.

"Hey, Issei, Saji, are the two of you hanging out well? This is probably a lot to take in at once but it will all be fine in the end." I told the two newest devils in town.

Issei chooses to look the other way, probably not wanting anything to do with me as he does seems to hate my guts. Saji, on the other hand, was much easier to get along since he apparently was already warned about who were the other devils in town, plus he didn't have any enmity towards anyone here.

Well, he did let his eyes linger on Peko a second too much but I didn't do anything about it, except for giving him a hard stare.

"Anyway," Sona said, causing all the chatter on the room stop. "Why exactly did you call us here Joseph? And on a school day no less. I hope this is good or else..."

I know she wants to be threatening, but when you know a girl since she was five and has multiple photos of her on magical girl cosplay and even a video of her copying Sailor Moon, well I guess I have enough blackmail material for the rest of my life.

The fact that I designed some of those costumes and that Serafal loved them and considers me a friend is just an added bonus.

"Well Sona, while I do understand your worry about the school I still think this is something that should not be delayed." except that I will delay it, what I am looking at the bigger picture here. "It has come to my knowledge that those fallen angels have attacked Issei, a member of Rias' peerage two nights ago. While the attack failed it still remains true that this isn't something we can simply brush off, especially considering that one of these fallen has shown himself to have a sacred gear."

Rias looked much more interested now when compared to before. I bet she is thinking about adding him, if only for the fight against Riser.

"Rias, don't even think about it. Him and the other fallen there are all a bad idea, from my meeting with them I can attest that they are zealous for Azazel." she puffed her cheeks as I told her that. "Continuing, I wanted to talk to you guys so as to see what you want to do about it and to see if we can enter in a consensus. For me, I think eliminating them with extreme prejudice would be safer."

I said that so as to put the room in a darker tone, just enough to get those hot-blooded justice fools to rise against my idea. I want to make everyone cautious about the situation and to make sure that when Issei or someone else decides to attack the falen I can go and help without a problem.

I learned how to be manipulative with Demiurge-sensei, no way I would be bad at this.

And it worked like a charm, most of the others reacted negatively to my suggestion (thankfully my peerage stayed silent as they knew me well enough to know when I meant what I said and when I was lying through my teeth, besides if I wanted to eliminate them I would just go and do it).

In the end, Rias and Sona denied my 'idea', but my next one was accepted quite easily.

"Then, if we are to refrain to eliminate them lets at least make sure to always keep us in pairs at the absolute least. For Issei and Saji we should keep with even bigger numbers, maybe put two others with them as neither seems to have any power to defend themselves right now."

This was easily accepted, I even offered to leave one my peerage members helping on this protection duty, no need to say that Rias and Sona didn't like the idea but both Issei and Saji liked the idea very much as their eyes were almost glued to Solution (in her almost cosplay level maid outfit) and Haineko (who was only with her fur covering her parts).

Well, I decided exactly who to send for these two considering how they keep ogling my woman. I am sure that Lo'lo and Nagito could work well with them.

Imagining those two young perverts dealing with Nagito and Lo'lo brings a sly smile to my face.

"Then it is agreed that we should move like this for now, but, if there is any other attack towards any devil on this town I will eliminate the threat. And if there's any fallen that wants to do anything about it I will personally introduce them to my sword." I said, and as I know it won't take long for those fallen to try something I don't even need to worry about it.

Now, all I have to do is wait for the inevitable to happen and for the results of the investigations, which probably will not take particularly long to arrive since Demiurge is quite excellent in this sort of matters.

* * *

"Is this the results?" I asked as I saw a document extremely detailed about the four fallen angels and their full capacity and armaments.

And it has been just one hour since the end of the meeting between the devils in town.

Demiurge-sensei really is extremely capable, if he wasn't already father's queen I would invite him for my peerage on the spot.

"Yes, this is the information that Demiurge-sama was able to find." Peko said from the side.

Well, this is quite interesting. Apparently they have a grand total of four sacred gears right now, first is Dohnaseek with the **Night Reflection** ; second is Mittelt has **Blade blacksmith** a powerful gear no doubt, especially since me and my peerage are devils, but apparently she has it for just one or two months now and isn't proficient with it yet; third is Kalawarner that has **Sturdy Saint** , a sacred gear that gives her immense defensive prowess and that could give a headache to take down; and finally there is Freed who somehow managed to obtain **Star Buster Star Blaster** , a sacred gear that is composed of a gun and a sword and has the potential to reach Longinus level.

Now, isn't this incredible? The enemies decided to present me so much, after all, any of these four gears are not exactly easy to find and would be great additions to my peerage. And they even brought the equipment to remove the gears themselves, how considerate of them.

But, their equipment to remove sacred gear is quite a failed product, after all, it depends on killing the host in a gruesome manner by removing their soul before obtaining the gear. If it was because they CHOSE to make it extra painful I could understand (for instance, if they are captured enemies), but having it be such a sloppy mechanism that always does this and think it was enough? That is an insult to the decent machines to do this! One of those in my family is more than able to do this.

Well, I suppose it would not matter much anyway.

They would die no matter what, at least like this their live will be worth mentioning in the future.

As stepping stones to me an my peerage of course, but hey, that is how much they are worth it in the end.

"Good job Peko, this will really help us greatly in the future." I told her and she gave me a simple nod of the head.

Now then, I only need to continue watching their movements closely and see when they step out of line. I know they most definitely will, especially considering how Haineko wounded one of theirs there is no way they will not do anything.

Besides, even if they do plan on just leaving they may as well forget it. I reinforced the magic defenses of the city a lot since I got here and one of the things I did was make the teleportation out of here for those who I don't approve to be much, much harder. It is a neat little trick grandma taught me, a trap to make any enemies trying to run away from the town need to go out with their own legs.

ANd getting away like this is much easier said than done.

"Peko, tell Entoma to send more of her bugs. I want to know where these fallen are at all times and I want to be informed the instant they make any suspicious movement."

"Understood, young master." Peko said before turning around and leaving me to musing my next move.

I guess this is it, for now, I probably only have to wait a little while longer for things to start moving.

I suppose after this I ought to start actively helping Rias and her peerage training, she still needs to get a whole lot stronger if she and her peerage want to survive what is to come during this year. Well, Kiba can stay as he is now, I would not miss his smug, stupid, and incapable of understanding talent self.

I swear to all that there is unholy on this world that if he is to ever talk shit of Maria again I will make what I will be doing to those fallen angels seem pleasant. After all, what I will do to the fallen is simply inevitable but what I will do to anyone who offends my Queen (she will be, no questions there) will not be simply because I will have to but because I will WANT to.

They do say that you need love to do the best works after all.


	23. Chapter 23

It had been a few days since the talk I had with Rias, Sona and their peerages. After that nothing happened of notice, except for Asia arriving and meeting with Issei.

Funnily enough, Issei was the one to trip instead of Asia, probably it was just bad luck as he was close to a not so happy Komaeda. But at least this worked just as well in making Asia and Issei meet properly and talk openly, the two hit it off quite spectacularly and quickly as well due to Asia healing Issei's leg.

And, as an added bonus to this slightly different situation, Kiba (who was another person in the little group going with Issei, again proving that the boy had a streak of bad luck to be surrounded by two of his most hated males) saw what Asia did by healing Issei and most certainly told Rias about it.

Considering how she was getting desperate for new pieces as the messages from the 'bird shit stain', otherwise known as Riser, keep coming to her more and more (a stark contrast to Ravel who stopped sending me letters a while ago despite I sending her letters with considerable frequency even right now, weird) and she is getting more and more nervous. I think it won't be long until she makes a move to try and obtain Asia for her peerage.

So, why not give her a helping hand?

"Entoma," I said while sitting in my office, to nowhere in specific but I know she would have heard it. "I want you to continue your watch on those people and make sure to inform me especially if they make a move on that blond human girl or if she leaves that place for any reason."

"Understood, Barbatus-sama." She said. It is strange hearing her talk like this to me, especially since I did consider her as a surrogate little sister, but she called me like this whenever I ordered her to do something specific instead of simply asking.

Also, I must say that those lip bugs are quite handy. She manages to talk through them easily enough even from a distance and considering how they can have different voices they can be easily used for all sorts of purposes. It is a bit distracting hearing Ento-chan's words through someone else's voice but I guess it can't be avoided.

At least this one had a pretty voice, but it was a pain in the ass to find a stray devil or demon with the right voice to kill and take away intact vocal cords of the corpse. At least this way the corpse can be used for something besides food for Entoma and Solution. Well, she does have a great collection of them by now, was it 50 or 60 different voices? Well, who cares?

As long as my little sister is happy and she isn't killing the innocent to obtain those, I couldn't care less what anyone in my peerage does to the enemies we face, as long as they end up dead in the end.

...I guess I really am not a good person, huh.

Not that I mind being like this, if anything being a good person in this world is more of a weakness than anything else. A few of the young devils may think that being a good person is good and all, but I know otherwise.

Being good and gentle can only take you so far, and my house is in a perilous position of being surrounded by enemies for who knows how long now. Being 'good' was never an option, the only ones that can be good in this word are the ones that are being protected or those who are overwhelmingly strong.

I am neither, thus here I am.

"Joseph-sama, the nun and a white-haired human male left the church." Entoma said.

Huh, this didn't take anywhere near as long as I thought it would.

It was just two days ago that Asia got here so it is a bit earlier than I expected. Well, this could be interesting.

"Entoma, I want you to try contacting Rias. Tell her that one of the fallen angel's subordinates is moving together with the nun, we will watch what he does and if he tries to attack an innocent person I will intervene." I guess this works just as well.

This way I only need to wait until that psycho goes to attack some unsuspecting person, intervene, and 'kill' him. I will then use this as an excuse to execute long overdue 'justice' and eliminate all those strays.

Not that I will ACTUALLY kill the fallen angels or Freed as they still have some use to me, mostly the items in them anyway. I only need to stage their 'deaths' using the corpses of some unsuspecting idiot, and there is no way that anyone will find out that I took the gears as after removing them I can just replace the corpses and no one will be none the wiser until my peerage reveals their newest gears.

For that, I may need to disfigure them all to the point where identifying them is impossible, but they will already probably be dead by then so it won't be a problem.

"Understood." She said through a lip bug.

I then activated a communication circle that could connect me to my peerage members, it was heavily modified when compared to the usual ones used by other devil clans as I don't want anyone to even dream about eavesdropping on any orders I give my peerage.

"Guys, we have a mission to do right now." I said.

* * *

In the training room, Lo'lo was carrying a 4-ton weight on his back as he was doing push-ups with a bored face.

"When will boss give us all a new mission? I am dying of boredom here."

He had been bored beyond belief. After all, it had been more than one month since he had the chance to crush enemies with his bare hands.

"Guys, we have a mission to do right now." Joseph's voice came directly to his ears out of the blue.

He then started to laugh maniacally.

"Yes, thank you boss! The missions you gives give me the chance to fight and destroy. This is what my race was born to do! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

* * *

In a lab on the Underworld, Ceasar was in the middle of his latest experiment.

"Shuololololo, this new weapon will be even more amazing than the last one. The gas this time will kill everything in a radius of 300 meters, the area itself will become poisonous for years to come and the bodies of those in there will be perfectly preserved for a long period of time in a state that will allow for perfect experimentation. To think I could create such an amazing thing, I am truly the greatest genius of this entire word Caesar Clown-sama! Hahahaha."

"Guys, we have a mission to do right now." Joseph's voice came right as Caesar was showing off to himself

"Geh, why does he always call when I am in the middle of an important experiment?" Caesar complained.

"Who is calling for you, Caesar-sama? Is it another girl?" A succubus said as she hugged him from behind.

"No, nothing like that! It is just my boss who is in need of my genius and supreme intellect right now."

"Ehee, so you are leaving now? And we were just about to get more comfortable." The succubus complained.

"Don't worry, I will be back soon. Two to three hours tops." He said hastily to her.

"I will charge you for those extra hours." She said, making Caesar twitch.

He didn't have nearly as much money as he wanted, but this succubus was just so hot that he wanted nothing more than to just go at it right now.

And yet he had to leave. He knew better than to cross Joseph when it came to these missions, he did not want to imagine what punishment he would receive if he simply ignored the order.

* * *

In a room inside the mansion, Komaeda was finishing his newest picture book.

All the pictures were of important young people that were absurdly talented, all of the young hopes of the world at large.

And yet, his newest addition to this picture was the picture of the magazine where his master and his queen were together.

"Aah, this is such an amazing book. Seeing all these people, all these talents and hopes to flourish or falling is just so wonderful for me. It is like watching how hope is always evolving, how only the great will be the best hope to illuminate the word at large. Just like how you illuminate mine, Nabe."

His girlfriend was by the side, she was just putting her clothes back in place as she heard that but it did not bother her that her boyfriend was more worried about this picture book than what they had been doing until a few minutes ago. He was just this sort of guy.

He truly was very lucky to have found ANYONE that would accept someone like him.

"Guys, we have a mission to do right now." Joseph's voice rang in both of their heads, and the reaction was instantaneous.

Komaeda, who was still as naked as the day he was born, stood up and started dashing towards the door.

"Komaeda, do you really want to appear like this in front of our master?" Narberal asked, clearly displeased by his actions.

She considered Joseph as her master and as such she wanted to serve him to the best of her capacities and having her boyfriend appear with everything hanging wasn't exactly something she wanted.

"Don't worry, I am just a speck of dust that doesn't matter in the great scheme of things. A mere stepping stone for the hope our master represents, so how I am dressed is much less important than answering to his summons." Komaeda argued, his eyes showing how he completely believed this statement without a single shred of doubt.

Narberal just sighed before she started running after her boyfriend while trying to get him dressed.

It was not going well.

* * *

"Is it going to take much longer? I want to eat already damn it." Chris whined as she waited for her lunch. Beside her were both Hainekou and Mukuro, both paying attention to other things.

Hainekou was looking intensely at a fashion magazine, specifically at the bride section that she was finding herself highly interested in for... reasons. She was, after all, uninterested in any other potential mate beside the one she already has so why not think about the future.

Mukuro was also busy, reading a magazine about guns that were just hitting the Underworld market. She was just seeing if there was any that would interest her as she liked to have the best tools for whatever mission she might have, one more reason as to why she had just bought a magazine about lingerie so as to prepare for the other 'battlefield' she fought every once in a while. And that was one type of battle that she liked very much.

"You just have to wait for a second, I am almost done with the cookies." Solution said while finishing the refreshments as the new batch of cookies was finishing. She was taking care of a light lunch for everyone, while also thinking about preparing a few extra cookies for her master/boyfriend as she knew he liked it very much.

Thinking about pleasing him always put a smile on her face, especially considering how he put a smile on her face when he decided to 'serve' her last night. He did have an amazing tongue after all, and he was not using it for singing.

"And it is done." She said while taking out the cookies from the oven.

"Too slow, come on give me my cookies already." Chris complained as she took a cookie that was still hot and put on her mouth after a while.

It was still quite hot but it didn't bother her, she just wanted to enjoy this moment.

"Guys, we have a mission to do right now."

"Oh, you got to be freaking kidding me! Why the hell is that idiot calling now that the cookies are finally done?" Chris complained while standing up, she still had caught two more cookies before heading out with the other girls while ignoring the talks of Hainekou, Mukuro, and Solution about the lingerie they were thinking about buying.

* * *

In a different room, a girl was sleeping soundly, dreaming about sweets and about flying high in the sky beside her boyfriend.

"Guys, we have a mission." Her boyfriend's voice rang through her head, waking up Phillufy.

"Muhh, I don't wanna go." She said to no one before turning around and going back to sleep.

She knew it wouldn't be a problem anyway, worst case scenario she just had to apologize later to 'Jo-kun' with the puppy eyes her mother taught her and everything would work out.

It was the 'ultimate moe weapon' according to her mom after all.

* * *

"It seems like everyone is here." I said as I looked around the room.

I know that Phillufy isn't here, but it was to be expected. She is a very my-pace girl and she would not simply move because I tell her to, besides she is not one of my peerage members, she is my familiar and as such I don't want to force her to do anything she doesn't want to.

"Shuolololo, can we get to it faster Joseph? I have an experiment going on right now and I don't want to waste what I did until now." Caesar said, which can be translated as 'I have a hooker waiting for me back in the lab so stop cock-blocking me'.

The others also want to know what I need them for, so I suppose we should get this started.

"Earlier tonight two people left the church where those fallen angels are. Considering how one of them is Freed Sellzen we can expect violence at some degree and as such we will move to stop it, also as an answer to this action we will send a separate team to the church to clean things up there, but I must tell you that you must only capture the fallen angels and not kill them. They have interesting sacred gears that would be wasted if they were to simply die as it is, you are to bring them to Caesar's lab so as to remove their gears." I said decisively.

The others nodded to my orders, they knew when I wanted their opinions and when the decision was set in stone.

"Who is to go where boss?" Lo'lo asked, probably itching for a fight.

"I want Peko, Mukuro, and me to go and face the crazy exorcist. The others are to advance towards the church and wait for my sign before moving in, eliminate all hostiles, capture the fallen angels, and those who give up are to be taken alive to Demiurge-sensei." They can be used on the front lines for the next invasion after we modify their memories and bodies to make them devotes for my family and stronger beings (if they will still count as humans is debatable).

At least this way they can be more useful than dead corpses. Besides, wouldn't they be happier as 'respected' soldiers than as people who committed genocide?

Not that I care, either way, it is just an added bonus after all.

"When do we move?" Mukuro asked stoically.

"We move to our positions now, the moment the sign is given we attack at once." I said.

Oh, I almost forgot.

"Chris-chan, don't go blowing up the entire church okay? Cleaning up the media afterward would be a hassle and who knows if the Catholics would not start talking some shit because of it."

"Tch, and here I was hoping you would let us all go wild." She pouted as she said that. Not that I have to worry and her doing anything again my order, she would listen to reason more often than not and she knew that I was right about this one.

"Well, if everything is ready, let's go!" I said moving first.

It was time to rip the fruits of my patience. Four sacred gears with one having Longinus potential, a new piece for Rias that could ensure much more safety for her, and possibly a few 'volunteer soldiers' ought to be reward enough for the time I wasted thinking about what to do.

* * *

"Issei, for this next contract, are you sure you want to go alone? Wouldn't it be better to take someone else too?" Rias asked as she saw Issei preparing to leave on his bicycle.

"Don't worry, buchou. I have been training these last few days, I am sure I can kick the butts of any fallen angels that come my way." He said confidently.

"I still am worried, how about Gonta? He can go too, right Gonta?" Rias said, not unlike a mother looking out for her youngest child.

"Gonta won't mind, Gonta happy to help friends and as a gentleman would it do." Gonta said happily. He truly was someone that was virtually impossible to hate.

"It isn't needed buchou. I can take care of myself." Issei said, already speeding away from there. He was confident that with his sacred gear, the twice critical that could double his power he would kick twice as much ass after all this training he has been having.

Besides, if he were to fulfill his dream of being a harem king he could not depend on others all the time. And of course, if he was lucky enough to meet Asia on the way there or when he was coming back all the better.

He still could not understand why he could not be friends with Asia. She might be a nun but she still was such a sweet girl, he wanted to know her much more and if he were to be followed by the other club members they would never let him talk to her if they were to meet.

Then again, destiny is a fun thing, after all, they would be meeting again soon enough.


	24. Chapter 24

"Asia-chan, wait right here. I have to see this lost lamb that lives here and make sure that he is not committing anything bad." Freed said as he and Asia approached a house on the outskirts of Kuoh.

He smiled in a way that anyone that had even the least bit of malice would notice that it never reaching his eyes that were showing a slightly maniacal appearance that seemed like he would pounce at someone and kill just because he thought it was fun.

However, Asia was exactly on the side of those who were blind to evil.

"Okay, Father Freed." Asia said with a smile. She trusted him, mostly because he was a priest and priests couldn't be bad people, right? (Let's forget about the Inquisition and the Witch Hunt during the Middle Ages, after all, it was centuries ago and it was just a few tens of thousands who died. No biggie)

"Just remember not to spy, I need you to sit tight right here. Also, later tonight we have a little something to do back in the church. I am sure you will love the surprise we have ready for you, Kyahahahaha." Freed said while laughing in the end, trying his darn hardest to not show ALL his tongue. Well, his hardest was not really cutting it anyway.

Freed then entered the house. He was looking for the man who he discovered was planning on summoning one of those filthy devil cunts to do who knows what.

So, as a good psycho priest, he went there to make sure that this person got sliced up good and well before being sent to hell for even thinking on making requests for devils.

However, he did not expect what he was about to see when entering the house.

"Come on Momota, you got to try better if you want to beat me." A blond devil said as he played with a guy that had gel-spiked purple hair that's grown out both at the top and bottom of his head, a short goatee, and his eyes are a warm lilac, and he had fairly long eyelashes. The man also had a white T-shirt with a purple blazer with a galaxy design on the inside of it put over his shoulders only wearing the coat with one arm.

"Yeah right, I got you in the ropes here and you know it man." A guy said with an annoyed tone, he was trying his very best to win this one.

"Ha, as if. I still am not going all out Kaito, now try and handle this!" The devil laughed before activating a combo and winning the match.

Seeing his character die Kaito dropped his head and said.

"Damn it, and I was so close too."

"Well, good luck next time." The blond devil said before putting his hand on the back of Kaito's head and casting a sleeping spell without Kaito realizing. "Phew, this was more fun than I thought it would be."

The blond devil then stood up, muscles that could make a bodybuilder shy away and blue eyes like the purest sky faced the dumb folded exorcist that entered the room.

"Hey, you took too long so I was playing a match here with this guy. Nice guy, honest and easy to get along to a T. It is a shame really, you will never have a chance of properly meeting him." The blond devil, no, Joseph Barbatus said before looking with pity to Freed.

Freed took out his sacred gear, he had obtained this fine piece not long ago and wasn't even certain how it worked all that well, but it was fine. For the gun, aim and shoot, plain and simple, and for the sword, well you know what they say.

Stick it with the pointy end.

"Heh, to think a shitty devil would show up maybe the fucker up above heard my prayers and sent me an early birthday gift. Hahahaha!" Freed said as he aimed his gun, the **Star Piercing Gun** and aimed it at Joseph who honestly did not seem to care at all.

The gear was still far from a Longinus and even if it had the right potential it did not mean that it was equal to a Longinus as of right now. If it wasn't a Longinus and it wasn't capable of instantly killing him Joseph honestly did not care about any attack, his own sacred gear made him unafraid of what would kill others quite easily.

Besides, Freed would not have a chance to attack him. Not if a certain silver-haired swordswoman had anything to say about it.

* * *

CLANG

It was only due to the pure and sheer instinct that Freed had that made him manage to pull his sword, the **Star-Crushing Sword** in front of Peko's swing. But, even with an absolute advantage on weaponry Freed was far from alright.

Peko's strike was not light enough for him to simply brush off, to be more specific he was launched through the room and right outside. Debris clung to his frame as he started trying to dash away from Peko who was releasing so much bloodlust and hate that even the birds around flew away.

She would never, NEVER, let someone who dared think to hurt HER young master go. And considering how he basically gave her his 'green card' to do as she deemed fit she was going to use this opportunity to kill the disrespectful fool.

As she dashed after Freed, Joseph saw she leaving and turned to a corner of the room that had a slight opening and from there Mukuro came out, she had her dark military clothes and a magic rifle on hands.

"Mukuro, you are to go and support Peko in case she needs help, as unlikely as it may seem." Joseph ordered with her moving along, no more words were exchanged between the two as she also left to work as support in case of an emergency.

Seeing his pawn leaving Joseph turned to the door, he knew that Asia was probably either there despairing about what she was supposed to do or she had run away. He hoped she was still there, after all, it would make everything quite a bit easier if she did not run away.

Opening the door he didn't see her there, sighing he started walking out of the house when he saw on the opposite side of the building Asia talking happily with Issei. It's likely that the young man showed up and Asia saw him and decided to say hello.

"Well, this works as well." Joseph said to himself before taking out his cell phone, he was going to call Rias and tell her to come here later as it was quite likely that she would manage to obtain a new piece before long.

And the best part of this development is that, while true that Asia would not see Freed and the fallen angels into action she would also not die in the first place and from the start her connection with the fallen angels was weak so this would not be that hard of a transition for her. Besides, the more she talked with Issei and the more they get along the more likely it was for her to accept being part of Rias' peerage to be with the dude.

* * *

In the old church, the four fallen angels were talking amongst themselves.

"And why did you let that freak go out with MY sacred gear exactly, Dohnaseek?" Raynare, the same fallen angel who had killed Issei asked with an irritated face to her 'ally'.

The machine to remove sacred gears had just arrived, and she was so excited to see it there. She'd finally have a sacred gear of her own, and after that, she would be able to get that much closer to her idol and master Azazel.

However, just as she was about to receive her prize Dohnaseek decided to leave the psycho priest to take away the sacred gear (who still was attached to a bag of bones and flesh) to a 'spin'. And the worse part? She was feeling quite the pressure due to that brat of the damned Barbatus house, she and everyone here knew how terrifying he was.

Rumors about his capacity were common knowledge to all those whose area was even remotely close to the house Barbatus, especially after he started making it a spot of the invasions they received from the demon race.

Even her Master admitted once that he didn't want to see the sort of disaster the brat would potentially cause in the future.

And now he was right there, watching them intensely from the side like a predator looking at its prey with amusement of what it intended to do.

If she already had that sacred gear she would not be so afraid, it would all be quite simple for her after all as she would be able to heal herself of all wounds. She would be 'unbeatable', but just when she was one step away from this Dohnaseek does this.

"Simple, I wanted to reward Freed for his services." Dohnaseek said dismissively while looking at his reattached right arm that he made the nun fix. And while true that letting Freed take Asia for a 'walk' was a reward (he did say he was needing to vent some stress so he was either fucking a corpse right now or Asia above a corpse, not that it mattered to anyone in this room), saying that the motivation for letting Freed go wild outside was actually just as a reward was a complete and utter lie.

He was uninterested in whatever Freed wanted, to making that freak follow happily you just had to give him targets every once in a while.

What he wanted was something quite simple, to make the Barbatus kid move against them. If he managed to do that he would have the devil come right towards his trap and after surrounding him with his fellow fallen angels and their own unexpected sacred gears he would thus manage to kill the devil spawn earning great glory for himself.

It was his own 'perfect' master plan.

"But it was my chance, every one of you guys already has one so I want my own sacred gear to-"

"Oh, shut up you skank." Kalawarmer said irritated by her whining, cutting off her companion's rant. It was just so annoying to her ears, to listen to Raynare bitching around over and over about how 'unfair' things were and why things didn't go according to her little plan. She should listen to the voice of reason and see that she was the bottom feeder amongst the bottom feeders anyway, that she was weak and should listen to her betters. "Dohnaseek is the second in command and I myself am the leader of this squad, I approved of his decision and you will continue to do as ordered."

"Yeah, yeah, you should just shut your mouth and listen to us." Mittelt said to Raynare. To be fair, amongst all of them here the strongest one was not Dohnaseek or Kalawarmer but Mittelt herself, but she chooses to not be the boss for a few reasons. First, she hated to work seriously, second is that she would rather spend her time bullying others and killing ants than to take care of the others so she was simply unwilling and unfit to lead anything.

And more importantly, she liked to toy with Raynare way more than any other thing. Her reactions and eyes that looked one step away from crying were just so fun to see. It was almost as good as when she managed to catch a devil infant and play with it. No need to mention that, by the end of it all, she'd have was a new fancy sheet for over a few dozen holy blades.

Besides, excluding Raynare the other fallen angels and Freed (who also was above Raynare on the pecking order in their little group) all agreed to the plan of Dohnaseek.

And it worked, Joseph did move just as he wanted. There were only a few problems.

First, Joseph himself wasn't coming as he went after Freed.

Second, he did not know that Joseph was already aware of what gears, strengths, capacities, and as such knew exactly what to expect and plan around it.

Third, and this one is very important so pay extra attention,

BOOOOOMMM!

The fallen angels here were way out of their league.

* * *

"Heh, so this is our target? It isn't that impressive." Lo'lo said while looking at the church not far from there.

It looked run down and about to fall on itself even if no one did anything to help. And the stray exorcists were also a letdown as they were way too weak to pose any sort of threat to him and the others.

"Nothing we can do about that, let's just agree to some basic rules for this." Solution said sadistically, she could barely wait for a chance to face these people. And in contrast to Lo'lo she didn't mind that they were weaklings.

It just made it all the better, torturing the weak enemies slowly while hearing their screams was always good for her ears.

"Whatever, let's just get this over with." Hainekou said while polishing her fingernails, she wanted them to be as pretty as possible for no other reason than because she liked them pretty.

"How about first come first serve?" Chris said, already trying to find some strong enemies to face.

Not that she particularly minded if she were to face a few dozens of stray exorcists, her gear being a formidable counter to large numbers of weaker enemies.

"Fine by me, I will stay here cheering for you all." Cesar said, hoping no one would tell him to go to the front lines. He was a coward and evil at heart, but, above that, he was a lazy guy. No way would he go run to the forefront of the battle if he could avoid it.

Maybe that is why he gets along so well with Lo'lo when on a mission, Cesar could slack around and Lo'lo would get extra fighting.

"Ha, Onii-sama did say you would say this." Entoma said, turning to her friend who was with a finger up his nose trying to scoop out a nose snout. "He said that the one to perform the worse would suffer a penalty and the one who accomplished the most would get a bonus."

And just like that Cesar stood up straight and started flying straight towards the church in the most direct way possible as he wanted a bonus quite a bit (just imagining how many new experiments and girls he could get with a bonus was enough to make him more than willing to fight) but more importantly he did NOT want to suffer the penalty (after all his expenses were cut so short that he could only ask for one, just ONE girl now, and he always liked more diversity).

After seeing Cesar flying away at top speeds everyone sweat dropped but started to move too. Narberal, who was positioned closest to Entoma, decided to talk to the said girl.

"Entoma, did master really said those words? It doesn't seem like something he would do normally." As far as Narberal remembered Joseph did give bonuses and incentives every once in a while but it was usually he would explain it and would not leave what exactly would be given in the air like this.

"Pffft, onii-sama didn't say anything of the sort. I just thought it would motivate Cesar to move if I were to say this, as onii-sama's surrogate little sister I do have to try and help like this too, right?" Entoma said with a little mirth in her voice, she clearly saw this as a smart strategy and, in any case, all anyone would need is to capture the fallen angels before Cesar and everything would be fine.

"Oh, to think that even the sister of hope itself would be so smart and amazing. It must be his shine and brilliancy spreading like the hoe he is and-" And so Komaeda started his speeches about hope, again, and everyone promptly ignored him, again.

It was funny really, the best way to deal with Komaeda was exactly this. Completely ignore his speeches and just filter his presence to minimal levels.

After this everyone, excluding Komaeda with his hope speech, shut up and approached the enemy camp.

It was time to move in, and the one to move first was no surprise for anyone.

Taking out a pair of castanets Ceasar looked at the church, he wanted to get as much contribution as possible and for that eliminating everyone above ground should make him be above the others. So, without further ado, he filled the castanets with an extremely unstable and easily inflammable gas, one of his own creation after multiple experiments, and after filling the castanets with as much gas as possible he clapped them towards the church.

" **Castanet**!" he said, and then.

BBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

The gong for this fight rang.

Fight?

Squirmish?

Confront?

No, no they are not quite right the right words.

Massacre, yeah massacre.


	25. Chapter 25

Carnage, that could be the only word one could use to describe the sheer sight of the battle between these two right now.

Both fighters, Peko and Freed, collided together in the middle of the room they were in, swinging their swords with wild savagery (Freed) and with practiced warrior's grace (Peko). Peko, utilizing her Katana, held no emotion in her eyes while Freed looked like a crazed lunatic... though, considering who this was, that wasn't really surprising at this point.

After they broke off, Freed lifted his Star Piercing Gun (SPG) and unleashed several rounds at her, each of them she sliced through with practiced ease. Though, this served as a distraction for Freed to slide in close and swing his Star Crushing Sword (SCS) in a reverse diagonal upward slash. Reflexes saved her however, as Peko parried the strike in the nick of time, sliding backwards.

Soon, she saw a prime opportunity to do as her master ordered, to take this man alive, and, as his tool, she would do as ordered. 'I'll strike now!' she thought to herself, getting into a stance which involved her putting both hands on her sword and placing it on the right side of her waist. At first, Freed wondered what it was she was doing, then discarded such notions before making to raise his SPG again.

Bad move on his part, as Peko, almost paralleling his actions from before, simply slid forwards, closing the distance between them with a swing from her sword in a diagonal upward angle from Freed's left hip to his right shoulder. 'Tsujikaze!' she thought to herself, showing no emotion when she saw Freed barely avoid the strike in time.

"OOOHHHH, not bad girlie!" the insane priest cried, cackling as he dusted off the front of his priest attire. He almost didn't win the battle to show how many beats his heart had skipped when he saw how fast that strike came. "I almost felt that one!" he shouted further, lifting up his SPG again and unloading a few rounds against her. There were more rounds than before, so Peko had to slash through more than before if she didn't want them to hit her.

Childs play, for a swordswoman like her.

The Tsujikaze was a simple sword technique she had learned after trying to copy the moves of a character from a novel her master gave her. It involved a simple upward slice from a side stance but also allowed one to quickly close the distance between them and their enemies before making the slash possible. It didn't involve anything else other than pure sword skill, which was basically her bread and butter. However, one had to be mindful of the distance one can cover, as that distance can be incredibly short, especially in large, open spaces. On the flip side, it could be quite deadly when in enclosed spaces, as the lack of mobility can make the strike harder to dodge. And, despite being outdoors and in an unfavorable location for this move it wouldn't make a difference for her as she was just that good, this strike could very well end a battle as quick as it began.

Once she sliced the bullets, Peko saw Freed closing in on her with a reverse slash intended for her head. However, Peko reacted much quicker than before, bending backwards to avoid it, before flipping into a kick that successfully hit her opponent's chin. Like a graceful acrobat, Peko landed on her two feet and held her Katana at the ready eyes narrowed at her opponent.

Said opponent didn't let this setback stop him, quickly closing the distance between them and unleashing a series of slashes: an upward slash, 2 diagonal slashes forming an X, and a side slash all aimed towards her vitals. She blocked the upward one, same with the two following slashes, before she slid behind her opponent to avoid the last slash, twirling around to strike at his back.

However, Freed had placed his SPG behind him at the last moment, angling it so when he shot it, the bullet would intercept her sword. If she hadn't noticed in time and pulled back, she may have very well been disarmed thanks to the recoil. Twirling around, the mad Priest cackled as he jumped at her, spinning into a series of slashes aimed at her head.

Instead of letting that happen though, she resorted to using her next technique from the same game set her instructor got these from: The Hiōgi. This involved her stepping forward and unleashing a 3 slash combo, taking a step between each one. Not a single con could be analyzed with this technique, unlike her last one. Her technique succeeded in parrying Freed's slashes, as well as exposed him to a quick Tsujikaze to the left thigh, Peko ending up behind her opponent.

"Argh! Sonova-!" the insane Priest screamed, clutching his damaged thigh which already began to bleed from the cut. Fortunately, it wasn't too deep, as he had adjusted his leg at the last moment to lessen the amount of flesh the blade could cut. Still hurt like a bitch, though.

Peko didn't let him recover though, as she quickly dashed at him with another Hiōgi in mind, her Katana having been set in the proper stance before her dash. However, Freed's instincts made him glance upwards which allowed him to see the attack in time, forcing the Priest to roll on his side to avoid the attack and then aim his SPG, firing at her exposed side.

To his frustration however, Peko just used impeccable footwork combined with her natural agility to move around the shots, never once breaking stride as she closed in on him. Grimacing, Freed readied his own SCB, and rushed forward to meet her. In the next second, the two collided just like they had done before, sparks flying from their trembling weapons.

CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG!

They went, encircling around each other and targeting each other's vitals, hoping to get an upper hand. Freed found himself at a disadvantage though, thanks to his bleeding thigh. He had to put more weight on his right leg because of it, which costed him precious battle performance, something that Peko quickly exploited... Or so she thought.

Just when she moved in for the kill by delivering a downward diagonal slice from his left shoulder down his chest to his opposite hip, Freed gave a psychotic smile and quickly unloaded a round from his SPG right at the base of her blade, catching her by surprise and quickly disarming her. Her Katana flew through the air like a boomerang, without its master to wield it and embedded itself into a wall.

"Hahahaha, lost your sword now, shitty Devil!" Freed bellowed, a victorious grin on his lips as he slashed at her with his SCB. Unfortunately for him, he underestimated the one who had the title of 'Ultimate Swordswoman', and with skill depicted of her title, Peko swiftly hopped back and flipped into the air, twirling around and angling her body to avoid the SPG's follow-up rounds.

"You would do well not to underestimate me, Priest."

Those words escaped her lips, not holding any of her internal emotions as she landed right beside her discarded Katana. Grasping the hilt, she waited for the charging Freed to get close, his SCB's blade already for a slash. However, just when he made to slash her, she pulled out her Katana and parried him, pushing him back much to the insane Priest's shock.

"W-What?!"

"Like I said."

Getting into the proper stance, Peko suddenly unfurled her Devil Wings, surprising Freed since this was the first time she had done so this entire battle. At that moment, Peko rushed forwards with increased speed thanks to her Wings, making the psychotic white-haired man before her pale when he realized just how much shit he had gotten himself into. "Sh-Shit!"

"Rashomon!"

Once she was close enough, Peko unloaded on Freed with a ferocious series of slashes, vertical, horizontal, diagonal, even a few thrusts were mixed in there. None of them were at a speed of which Freed could block or even see for that matter, as Peko was not so simple of a swordswoman for anyone to keep pace with her.

This was the Rashomon, another technique she learned after reading about it somewhere and trying it out for a while. It involved a series of strikes that were so fast and powerful that the enemy would be hard pressed to avoid them, sometimes it made it seem like there were multiple attacks coming at the enemy at the same time. Fortunately, she had kept her master's orders first and foremost, thus she had only aimed to cut him just enough that he would be defeated in this move alone, not killed.

He should be grateful, she thought. If her Master had let her, she would have sliced him to pieces in this attack.

Well, maybe the loss of the legs, arms, ears, and the tongue was a bit much but this thing dares to THINK about hurting her master. This was light punishment as far as Peko was concerned.

She then turned to the side and said.

"You can come out now."

"... Fine." And with that Mukuro jumped out of the tree she has been hiding for the last few minutes. Her magic rifle in hand as she slowly put it down.

"Why did you come?" Peko asked with narrowed eyes, she was none too pleased to see that someone else was sent when she already was here. For her, this was unnecessary and an offense to her skills.

"Master sent me, he wanted to make sure that everything would be okay with you and help you if you were to be in danger at any moment." Mukuro said, earning a light nod from Peko.

These two stayed quiet as they went to catch all parts of the exorcist that were on the ground before taking them away to Cesar's lab. Well, that should be what happened but they were...

"Scissor's beat paper, you can take him to the lab while I go to master' side." Mukuro said with a slight smile as Peko looked at her own hand in frustration.

Yep, they were playing rock-paper-scissors to decide in who would take Freed to the lab and who could go and meet Joseph first.

No need to say that Peko was even more frustrated now than before, not that Mukuro cared much for this.

* * *

After the church exploded many of the stray exorcists that were above ground were either passed out could, burned to a crisp, or outright dead.

"Shuololololo, next time I should use poison gas. Exploding gas like this is fun and all but seeing them crawl on the ground while coughing blood and guts is so much more interesting, shuololololo"

"Out of the way!" A yell rang through the field as a rock way too big flew through the air almost hitting Cesar had he not fully turned to gas for an instant.

BOOM

The rock collided with what was left of the church, caving in the ground of the church and revealing all those who were trying desperately to hide inside.

"First come first served, last place!" Lo'lo' voice rang through the field with a maniacal glee to it as he launched himself way too fast inside the church.

Caesar could only look agape at this, before he saw how everyone entered the underground while he stayed there.

"Tch, I can't go in there. I could blow up the whole thing if I did or end up poisoning one of the others with my powers," Caesar said begrudgingly before he saw how a few stray exorcists were trying to run away from secret passages outside the church. "At least I will get a few good old slaves for master's army." He said before aiming his powers on the direction where the stray exorcists were and using another one of his skills. "Karakuni!" and with that, no more air existed around those escaping strays.

They swiftly and precisely were collected, they now would go pass through some basic modifications before they become good frontline soldiers. Perhaps they can even survive and enjoy their new lives, lives that existed solely for the betterment of the Barbatus house.

It still beats dying of poisoning where their nerves start sending pain messages until the brain itself decides to shut down and die. True fact, Caesar could and would do that if not for Joseph's orders.

* * *

As the invaders of the church advanced they realized one thing, this place was fucking huge inside.

It was simply too big, there were multiple facilities there that clearly showed how this place was made with the intent of surviving an attack and that it was made to let many people living inside without a problem.

Actually, this was to be expected. This place was, from the start, not made by this fallen angels but by the Protestant Church (one of the three main factions of Catholicism) to house their exorcists in Kuoh as a stronghold against devils and the Shinto faction.

"This isn't getting us anywhere." Narberal said as she and the others passed by the 11th stray exorcist who was promptly subdued so as to let them take him away later.

"Yeah, but hey there are multiple passages coming out from over there. We can all split up if that is any better." Nagito said, making the others roll their eyes at him as they knew that whatever passage Nagito took would either lead him straight to the big prize or make him walk in circles empty-handed before tripping on nothing and falling head first on a rock.

But, they did accept this suggestion if, for nothing else, to see who was going to get the 'big prizes'. A harmless internal competition, well...

"...And take these with you too, HAHAHAHAHA!" Chris yelled as she launched 24 harmless small bombs at the new group of stray exorcists that were approaching, blasting them away.

'Harmless' is a strong word.

"This is fun and all, but isn't there any challenge for me here? Damn this place is boring as fuck now." Chris complained as she continued navigating through the underground facility.

"If this is so bad why don't you play with me for a bit?" A woman's voice rang as Raynare showed up from a secret passage, a light spear at hand as she tried to pierce Chris' back.

Chris' arm turned her arm back, her gun aimed straight at Raynare's shoulder as she blew it up.

"Ghaaaaahh! My shoulder, my freaking shoulder." Raynare started to yell in pain, her arm hanging out from just a strip of flesh and skin.

"You know, you truly are dumb. If you tried to attack quietly maybe, just MAYBE, you could have done any sort of damage on me." Chris said while looking down at Raynare. She then took a good, hard look, shook her head, and said. "But at least you are lucky, if you had a sacred gear this wouldn't be anywhere as quick."

"You BI-"

BANG

A shoot in the head and that was it. The fallen angel Raynare, the one that killed Issei not long ago, died just like that. An anticlimactic death fit for an insignificant weak fallen angel such as her.

* * *

On another point of the underground facility Lo'lo also found an enemy.

The fallen angel Kalawarmer that was looking at him warily, especially since another intruder reached their location mere seconds after Lo'lo.

"Tch, so far just a few seconds, how unlucky." Nagito said as he saw that he was a bit late and now had to wait.

"Ha, tough luck Nagito." Lo'lo countered with a light giggle. He was just so excited, he finally had someone to break. He was NOT going to miss out on this.

"Heh, do you really intend on hitting a weak girl?" Kalawarmer said sultrily with a hint of weakness on her tone. She had received some intel about the most dangerous people on Joseph's peerage and amongst them one of the most dangerous by far was Lo'lo.

The Fanalis race was known as one of the strongest races in the world and, even amongst them, Lo'lo was particularly strong and talented. If she could avoid fighting the guy she would.

Besides, most guys let their prejudices towards girls stop them from fighting full power. Especially if they were cute and/or sexy and she knew she had quite the sex appeal due to her gigantic tits.

Lo'lo looked at her for a while and then laughed for a bit before dashing at her with such a speed that the ground itself cracked under his foot.

With a jump kick, he managed to throw her over five walls before she managed to stop, a little tickle of blood getting out from her mouth as her sacred gear sturdy saint raised her defenses enough to mitigate the impact and make her survive.

Not that she was fine, Lolo's attack wasn't that weak that others could ignore it that easily. She had seven broken ribs, her stomach and organs were damaged in multiple areas, and she was suffering from internal bleeding.

Honestly speaking, the only way she could survive was if there was someone there to heal her. Unfortunately, that ship sailed the moment the invasion started.

"He, you are sturdy. Just makes breaking you all the more interesting." Lo'lo said with a smile that would make even Solution proud.

"Don't forget that we need her alive Lo'lo. It is Hope's orders after all." Nagito told Lo'lo in worry that he might go too far and forget the orders from their master.

And going against hope was something that he would never, ever, accept... Unless it is to make hope shine even brighter, but this was not one of those times.

"I know that, I am not stupid Komaeda." Lo'lo rebutted his companion before completing "It just means that everything above killing her is fair game, and it has been quite a while since I thought someone who could take a hit from me and not break. It is just a shame for you that I already have a girlfriend, so you can only be my punching bag. But do try your best to survive.

"It will make this hunt more interesting if the prey struggles."

* * *

 **Writer's Note:**

 **I am here just to inform you all that next chapter will be the end of this 'arc' as the following one will be one to connect to a next one where I will introduce the next peerage member of Joseph's Peerage.**

 **Right now I am working on chapter 41 so there still is a lot to unpack on the story and I always appreciate suggestions and questions on the review section, I always try to answer the person about any sort of doubt they may have so if you want to ask anything about this story please do so and I promise to try my best to answer (as long as it isn't true spoilers).**

 **Oh, and if anyone has a problem with the fact they have an army made by those who they capture like that you should know that it still is best then dying and going to hell and they basically re-start life as a new person so there are many who develop a family and can live happily like that. Besides, it isn't like the Barbatus family has the freedom to not use this sort of method since the population of devils is not that great and they live close to the Demon's territory and from other races that like to attack the devils too.**

 **For the Barbatus house, fighting never ended so they have to do what they can with the limited amount of resources and money they have as the other houses don't support them nearly enough as none has a true sense of danger from the other races of the Underworld. It is sort of like the Night's Watch from Game of Thrones, they do what they can with what little they do have. Even Joseph's engagement with the Phenex house was just to try and receive more connections and economic resources from the other houses (after all, money is one of, if not the most, important thing on a war).**


	26. Chapter 26

"Heh, what a surprise. You truly are keeping up with me." A bored Narberal commented as Dohnaseek continued to create shadow monsters to take the magic strikes aimed at him.

He was desperately trying to defend himself, his constructs taking more and more of his energy to create as he keeps spamming them.

'I need to survive this. This should not be the end of me! I will survive!'

As Dohnaseek kept saying this to himself while desperately fighting for survival he remembered his life until this point. He had always been at the bottom of the barrel, he was born as just one more of many angels made by God in just one more batch.

A completely unimportant individual.

But even so, he was happy.

He had spent hundreds of years basking in God's grace, hearing of how important love and compassion truly was and working to make others see it as he helped protect humanity from demons, devils, and many other types of monsters.

He had seen many of his brothers and sisters die in the line of duty, but he was still content with his life.

And then, the first angel was created.

Lucifer, an Archangel of the Lord fell due to denying God's beliefs. He did not love humanity, just as many others also did not love them at all deep inside. It was the greatest scandal of Heaven since the start of time, but God did nothing to punish this 'lost lamb' as he many times called him.

Following Lucifer, more and more angels fell, including Dohnaseek's own superior in Kokabiel, and with the lack of action from God, Dohnaseek started for the first time having doubts.

Why should he keep fighting for the weak humans when so many others from his species could simply relax and enjoy all sorts of pleasures that he would never be capable of feeling? Why must he and his brethren continue risking themselves for the unworthy when even if they left the line of duty they would receive no punishment or repercussion?

And it was this doubt exactly what started leading him to the road of falling.

He envied his fallen brothers, he raged over his duty imposed on him that could lead him to an ungrateful and unimportant death at any time, and he started to lust after women. But, the most important was that he now was greedy for achievement and for showing that he too was great.

That he too could reach greater things than what God has programmed for him.

And thus, the weak pure angel Dohnaseek became the weak fallen angel Dohnaseek.

When he fell he expected more, he expected things to change and that he would become someone important. Someone respected and feared by the weaklings of Earth.

It was not meant to be.

Not long after he fell the Great War happened and he was forced to join in or he would have died then and there due to his own fallen brothers that feared that some of the other fallen would turn traitors. He was forced into a war he never wanted due to reasons he didn't fully understand, but at least he was happy as after falling he found love and friends that respected and cared for him. It was probably the happiest he has ever been since before he even knew what was sin and his first doubt.

Ad yet again things didn't go his way. Those he came to care about died again and again in front of his eyes, even the woman who was carrying his child, the only one he was ever supposed to have, died under the rampage of the Celestial Dragons as nothing more than collateral damage. Completely unremarkable for anyone else.

But even as he cried no one cared. His life was still meaningless and he still could only be his weak self, he was born weak and would remain so for the rest of his life. And thus the war came to an abrupt end before he had the chance to at least die a glorious and memorable death it all came to an end. 'Peace' was achieved, even though Dohanseek never managed to find true peace.

He then swore. He swore to reach the peak, to make his life meaningful and to make himself memorable, to get out of his fate of being just an unimportant extra on the life of others.

He killed an untold number of sacred gear users from grown-ups to mere babies with no hesitation in his search for power and after a long time he obtained one himself, and even if it was no Longinus it still was a powerful gear. As he managed to obtain that he now finally, FINALLY, had his chance of doing something that would be remembered for generations to come.

To kill the spawn of the Barbatus household, the devil clan that was the most hated amongst his species.

So why, why is it that even now he still isn't getting anything right?! Why must this bitch stand in his path?!

Why can't he WIN?!

" **BALANCE BREAKER: KAGE NO SEKAI SHIRAISHA!** (Tyrant of the shadow world)"

And so things changed.

Every shadow turned solid and over 30 copies of himself surged from his own shadow, all carrying shadow Spears and all serving him.

HIM!

He, for the very first time in his life, felt like he was a chosen one. That this was the first step to his glorious new life.

"Ha, do you see this? This is the proof that I am a chosen one, that I will rise above you dirty devils and be one of the strongest in this world, and to mark that I will kill you and use your entrails to hang that pathetic excuse of scum that you call a maste-"

STAB

"That is far enough." A voice said behind his ears as a knife penetrated his cheeks cutting his tongue in half inside his mouth.

"Ghaaaaahh!" He started yelling in pain, but all that could be heard was the sound of grunts of pain as he could no longer create actual words.

"Solution, I thought this piece of trash was supposed to be mine to kill." Narberal said with a slight bite to her tone.

"Sorry, I just couldn't hold myself back when he started talking about Joseph-sama like that. But I did leave him alive and well enough to let you end this." Solution said while twirling her knife. She had been hiding close to Dohnaseek's back this whole time, ready to intervene only if, for some freak miracle, he could actually wound Narberal.

But when he spoke too much about what he shouldn't the results were clear that see.

"Well, I suppose you are right. Besides, he is just some extra inferior life form anyway so it doesn't really matter how he dies." Narberal said while agreeing with Solution.

This triggered Dohnaseek badly, those were the exact words he wanted to hear the less. He would NOT stand to this, he was not an extra, he was not weak, and he would not die here.

Fortunately for him one of those statements was the truth, unfortunately for him, it was not in the way he would have liked things to be.

Ordering his 'troops' to open the way for his escape over 30 copies of himself with the same amount of power he had flew towards Narberal.

Said maid only looked mildly surprised by this action before she stretched her hands forward, two magic circles with the Barbatus insignia on them as she said.

" _Twin Dragon Lightning_." And with that two dragons made out of magic were released from her magic circles, burning away all the efforts and hopes of Dohnaseek as if they meant nothing.

And in the end, they truly meant nothing on the grand scheme of things, no they actually meant something. They meant benefits for his enemies, for the strong ones.

Seeing his new power be discarded and defeated this simply normally would terrify Dohnaseek, but he was currently too busy trying not to get hit by the dragons that continued on their path towards him. His desperation was answered by his sacred gear which fused shadow and darkness in a much more powerful spear of pure energy that Dohnaseek could never imagine himself creating normally. He launched it with all his power, wishing with his entire heart to at least take Narberal with him. He also continued trying to run, to defend, to do anything to survive.

But it still fell short as the spear he created, the strongest one he has ever made on his entire life, was blocked by a magic barrier that Narberal casted instantly and without even trying.

CHOMP CHOMP

Not only that as the two dragons hit him directly using their maws as real dragons, taking a huge bite at him. His arms and legs vaporized by the heat of the dragons' mouth's and the current passed through his body frying his insides and making him feel more pain than anyone should ever be capable of standing.

He swiftly passed out, his last thoughts were on how he regretted his life and how it was wasted like this.

"Can you take him, I wanted to keep looking for more bodies to collect." Narberal asked Solution.

"Sure, I guess this can be my punishment for almost stealing your prey." Solution mused before raising the living torso of Dohnaseek and pulling him inside herself.

He woke up instantly, the acidity of Solution's body was just enough to make his pain reach new heights that he couldn't even comprehend, she even made it a point to release a neurotoxin that forced the brain to process every single thing happening and stopped it from simply shutting down.

His screams were like melodious music to her ears, sending waves of sadistic pleasure through her being. He would stay like this until it was time to remove his soul and sacred gear.

The two girls then continued on their ways ahead, Dohnaseek was no longer an enemy, a fallen angel, or even a being for them anymore. He was but a receptacle containing a sacred gear, this is the result of the life of the fallen angel named...

What was his name again?

* * *

In another area a different battle was happening. Well, a 'battle' might be too good of a word to describe it.

A desperate struggle for survival should be a more appropriate term.

"*Haa* *Haa* W-Who are those monsters? This wasn't what I signed up for." Mittelt said to herself as she stopped to take a breath.

She had been running for the last ten minutes, what she saw, what was hunting her down, it terrified her to the core.

"Why are you hiding? Do you want to play hide and seek now? I can play this game too." A sweet voice said from nowhere as the sound of an untold number of claws hitting the ground hang on the corridor.

As she heard the sound approaching Mittelt felt her skin crawl. She started to run away at her topmost speed, desperately trying to find a way to survive as the insects continued to advance.

Seeing their approaching form she turned around and created a wall of holy swords, all of them being heavy and sturdy, but it all meant a little less than nothing as the insects devoured the holy blades in a matter of seconds.

Mittelt continued to run, she didn't even bother watching the result of her latest wall as she had already made over 30 and they all ended the same way.

In the belly of those monstrosities.

It was the same for everything she tried, light spears, physical attacks like rocks, flames or other elements from a more specific holy sword. Everything she had was eaten away, everything not even stopping this tide for more than a few seconds.

And so she continued to run, and run, and run, until...

"Congratulations, you finally reached your destination." Entoma said as she sat down on the top of a flight of stairs while looking down at the despairing Mittelt. They were inside a room connecting to the outside of the base, but the only escape path was exactly the door behind Entoma.

Mittelt looked at the girl for an instant before disregarding her in order to continue running, or so it should be if not for how the wave that was risking swallowing her whole stopping when they reached this room.

Seeing Mittelt's confused face Entoma started talking.

"You truly were way too slow, I even went out of my way to guide you here and you still took this long. You are lucky that Onii-sama said he wanted you alive or I would have killed you already."

"Wait, who are you? And what is going on here?" Mittelt asked.

"Well, my name is Entoma Zeta and I am one of the pawns and the surrogate sister of Joseph Barbatus. I am here because Onii-sama asked me to take care of your lot. I sent my insects here days ago, I prepared for this fight since then as those insects you saw were just one example of the many types I planted around here to investigate and help when we moved in. By the way, your security is not good at all, you didn't even notice the few demonic insects I sent to your base to breed underground, next time you should really look out for that." Entoma said before standing up and summoning a locust-like creature that flew to her and when it was close enough, it readjusted itself to look like a sword. "Not that any of you will have a next time, that is. This is my weapon for this fight, _sword bug_ , as the name implies it is a bug that can work as a sword due to how good its cutting edge is."

And with that Entoma launched herself at Mittelt who had created a holy blade that released flames. The flames were very effective, or at least as effective as they could be, against the insects earlier so it should have some effect.

Even then, Entoma dominated the fight in an overwhelming manner as she was a much more capable swordswoman than Mittelt, she did train with Peko after all.

Spinning under a swing from Mittelt, Entoma managed to get one good strike at her thigh, making her enemy less likely to be able to run and eliminating Mittelt's mobility.

Just as Entoma was about to reach her chest with her sword bug Mittelt reacted by sheer instincts and forced a wall of holy blades between them.

From this short exchange alone, Mittelt was already quite tired as she had been running for quite a while now.

Entoma then jumped back before a mass of insects surged from her back as she pulled them back at her left arm, puffing her sleeveless to look like a ball.

She then dropped her arm, aiming at the wall of holy blades before discharging,

" _Bullet Bug_." and with that many bugs were launched at a subsonic speed, and if you add their hard carapace you got one result.

CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK

The wall of swords got pierced so much that it looked like Swiss cheese.

Mittelt, that had tried to protect herself behind the wall, was now sprayed on the floor. Her body was mangled with many holes covering her entire frame, her mouth got crushed and there were many places throughout her entire body where blood leaked, bones showed, and even her intestines were showing up on the outside.

"Oh, maybe I went a bit too far. But don't worry, you won't die HERE, we do have other uses for you." Entoma said before releasing a group of insects that entered Mittelt's body, forcing her bleeding to stop by cauterizing it from the inside before starting to move Mittelt who no longer had the capacity to do anything other than dread about her future.

" _Young Parasite_. This is a bug that can control the body of another when they are dead or close to death and unable to defend themselves, they help preserve it for as long as possible while planting their eggs that after ecloding devour part of the flesh and continue controlling the body to search for other bodies to infest. Normally this would mean a death were your insides would be eaten by the just born bugs and one of the worse pains there is, but as you will already have had lost your soul by then I think you won't mind. Isn't it good that you can live a while longer?"

Mittelt screamed in her head, praying desperately for someone to come and save her. That she didn't want to die, but it wouldn't matter.

She was already dead the moment the invasion started, no, the moment she caught the attention of Joseph.

* * *

"What, won't you try to seduce me anymore?" Lo'lo asked Kalawarmer, not that he expected an answer.

Kalawarmer already seemed one step away from death at this point in time. Her bones were broken in so many parts that even she didn't know how many bones of her body were still intact.

But it definitely was less than those which were broken.

This 'fight' was more of a one-sided battle than the fight between an Elephant and a baby crow, the difference in stats was simply impossible to match.

She tried to stand up, but she could clearly feel her two femurs giving in as they were broken in over 3 parts each. She would be crying in pain if she could, but her face was punched in, damaging her tear ducts and making her incapable of even crying properly.

Not that she needed any more wetness on her face considering how her face's skin was closer to mash potatoes covered in blood than anything else.

She hated the fact that she had this damned gear, if she didn't have the **Sturdy Saint** she would have died long ago. Death was better than this.

After she didn't react for a while Lo'lo scratched his head seeing how she didn't react and thought that she must have passed out. And while incorrect, as she was still very much awake and aware of her surroundings, she could no longer move a single finger or summon any strength whatsoever. Her limbs were all broken and twisted while her wings were all one step away from simply falling out and there were just a few straps of flesh connecting them to her body.

And if it was like this then there was no difference between living and dying.

"Sigh, and here I was hoping for more." Lo'lo said tiredly before a small rock hit the back of his head. Turning back with a snarl he saw Komaeda looking down at him.

"Don't call the name of HOPE in vain!"

Again Lo'lo could only sigh. He knew that there was no point in fighting Komaeda as he could not kill the brat as he was a teammate, besides fighting the guy was more of a headache than it was worth it.

"Let's just take her already." Lo'lo said as he caught Kalawarmer by the hair, dragging her body away while passing by who knows how many sharp debris on the ground, all cutting her skin further and further.

Her beauty that she loved so much, the thing she wanted to protect more than anything to the point of choosing the **Sturdy Saint** to make her body harder to wound, was now ruined. She was ruined.

And that was all there was to it.

Form the four fallen angels here, the only lucky one was Raynare. She was the only one to have a quick death, after all.

* * *

On the lowest level of this facility a cat strolled in, she moved like she owned the place as she started looking around for anything that could be interesting. However, despite being the most secure location there was hardly anything inside. Just as she was about to leave she saw a list on the ground. Taking it she saw that those were names, there were five names in it, names on the list and one of them was of Issei and the other was of Asia.

"This must be their hit list, it is probable that every single one here has either a unique power or sacred gear. I think master might be interested in this list."

And so Hainekou left the room, no longer interested in whatever happens to those who were inside as by now the others already must have finished their 'fights'.

And so, the 'fight' ended. No one would ever again see those four fallen angels, and no one cared about it.

Wait, that is incorrect. They at least would be of use in being the casket were the sacred gears were, and that meant something, I guess.

* * *

 **Writer's Note:**

 **Wow, this was a dark chapter. I outdid myself while writing this one, but to be fair I was reading Overlord's seventh volume while writing this one so I got a bit on the mood so to say.**

 **Don't worry, there aren't as many dark chapters like this ahead. At least not until we get to the Kokabiel and Chaos Brigade parts, there it is fair game.**

 **Anyway, reviews are wellcome and I hope to see you all again soon.**

 **Bye =)**


	27. Chapter 27

"So, everything happened as predicted?" I asked Hainekou who was sitting on the table beside me.

"Of course, everything happened as ordered Master." Hainekou said without a hint of worry in her voice.

After what happened in Kaito's house I talked to Rias and she agreed to talk to Asia about the situation at hand, including proving to her what the fallen angels wanted and showing evidence of what was intended for her, and try to convince her to be a servant.

I even gave Rias the advice to entice Asia by telling her that she could heal many more people this way and that she could get real friends to care for her. Both are the truth, but a convenient truth that works in favor of Rias.

Now I am looking at the report of what happened during the invasion. From what I can gather the results were an astounding success.

The three sacred gears were obtained, no witnesses were left alive, and as the cherry on top of the cake, we managed to get over 80 stray exorcists in relatively healthy conditions. We are now processing our gains back in the labs and just have to wait and see the results.

I am particularly thrilled with the sacred gears, I just wonder who I should give them to.

Hainekou is an instant out since she already has one and doesn't seem to be in need of another. Most of the others are like this too, but there are a few that could probably work well with the gears we have obtained.

Chief amongst them is giving Lo'lo the **Sturdy Saint** as to raise his defense capacities. Imagining him with this is like imagining a tank fighting against an armed civilian, one that is only using a handgun, the sheer difference in power and defense is amazing, no way can the civilian even damage the tank.

As for the other three, I think Peko could fit in well enough with **Blade Blacksmith** as it can help her in creating all sorts of swords for different situations. The downside is it's holy and therefore dangerous for the user itself (if the user screws up and slices up themselves even a little, it could be dangerous) but she isn't such a novice that she would ever screw up on this front. Well, that is if she wants this gear as, otherwise, I could just give it to someone else to produce a large number of holy blades to the armies of my family as the number of demons has been growing quite a bit and they might try to invade soon.

As for **Star Buster and Star Blaster** , it will probably fit in well with Mukuro. She is quite capable with guns so the gun aspect is good for her, the sword part may be more difficult but she could probably try and change its form to look like a knife as she is great with those too.

The final one being **Night Reflection** is a bit more complicated as none of us has an immediate use for it but if someone wants it then they will get it and if no one wants it then I will keep it for future members or as a gift for the other houses or put it on one of the underground auction houses to sell it for a hefty sum.

I will find some use for the thing one way or another.

"Master, I also have found something that might interest you." Hainekou said before handing me a file.

Taking a glance I realized what it was, and a smile probably appeared on my face.

A hit list with names, physical description, location, even hobbies of multiple individuals on this town and in its surroundings. It might seem random at first but considering that the names of Issei and Asia were in it, it probably is a list of sacred gear users that are close by.

This would be such an amazing gift for Rias, a present that she probably would want to reward me for.

But leaving the more luxurious thoughts out of my head I still need to watch these people just as well. If nothing else there is a chance that the Hero faction will make a move against them soon and if they do this might be a good chance to catch them and at least eliminate part of their fighting force.

Sigh, I still must think about killing Kokabiel as soon as possible. Normally I would simply move as soon as I saw the chance of taking him down, but right now I must hold my hand.

The fucker is important to the overall grand plot, I need him to appear in Kuoh and bring the Excalibur fragments here. This is the best way to assure that the peace treaty happens without a hitch.

Maybe I could use this interval until Raiser shows his smug ugly ass face here to do something useful for the future.

I will be having four missions in a short interval soon enough, facing them all isn't necessarily impossible but if I can stack the cards in my favor even if it is just a little it is worth the effort.

Maybe I could get to hunting down some of the Old Satan faction members, I know that their heads are all strong but not impossible to beat and dealing with them now can help me later in guaranteeing that I will be able to choose the battlefield and prepare instead of depending on the decisions they make.

The first one to move wins, or something like that.

"Hainekou, could you check my schedule to see if there is anything that I must do these next few days?"

"Sure thing, master~" She said in a singsong voice, she noticed how I relaxed and started relaxing too. As she looked over at a book on the side she made it a point to keep moving her butt from one side to the other in a very appealing manner.

Well, I guess I know what she wants as a reward for the work she did tonight.

No complaints to me there, this is the type of reward I can get behind, or on top, or on the side, off.

"From what I see you have a few things that you need to do this next week. First is that you have a Q&A session on Akihabara on Saturday, second is that you were invited for an art exposition in Milan to expose your latest works Friday, and third is that you have a fashion show to present your new clothe models on Sunday. Not to forget that the publishers for your latest game want to know of your progress and the novel publishers would like to receive a copy of your latest manuscript until Monday tops as the release date is getting quite close." Hainekou said, before seeing that my forehead was covered in cold sweat.

Fuck, I don't have time to go hunt down those fuckers now. I have way too many things to take care off and my time is limited.

Hey, I could at least check up on Leonardo and see his situation. He IS Italian after all so it wouldn't be that difficult to go and see him considering that I will have to go to Milan anyway, and I can make sure that Cao Cao didn't get to him yet. But I have to be careful, the church is extremely powerful in that area so I must avoid making too much noise or they might try and attack me.

Well, not like they won't be watching me closely anyway as they probably will be sending exorcists to watch over me during my stay since they are not THAT dumb and I am quite famous worldwide so any news about my movements can be known all over the place.

I just hope they won't send some idiot that thinks all my actions are somehow evil. Maybe they can send Dulio this time, he is chill enough to not try and stab me in the back when I try to help someone get up from the ground, Irina and Xenovia are nowhere close to as chill as him I tell you that.

Last I saw them Irina started praying for some weird-ass reason and Xenovia wanted to try and, and I quote, 'bring salvation to humanity by exorcizing the evil in front of her'. Offensive isn't it? I am not THAT evil, at least I still have a long way to go before I can reach Demiurge-sensei's level (not that reaching his level is something to look forward too anyway). Besides, I do help those who are innocent and in need, which is more than most exorcists can ever say.

Anyway, I should get going and start on writing the book. There still are quite a few pages to go before I can deliver it.

"Master, can't you reward this naughty kitty who worked hard for you tonight?" Hainekou said with a pleading tone, but she did pose in a way that emphasizes all her proportions.

Damn, the book can start tomorrow.

I have something much more important to take care off, as there is no way I can work well if I can't focus.

The worst case scenario is I work on the book during class, it will probably work out anyway.

* * *

I ended up not doing much last night. I think Hainekou may be getting close to her mating season as she just isn't ever satisfied. I had to make her come more than 40 times just to calm her down, and even that seemed like not enough for her at all!

If I didn't have my sacred gear to heal me in every way possible including resupplying me of bodily fluids I think I would have run dry a long time ago.

Heh, I wonder if God would have a heart attack if he knew a devil got laid extra hard because of his hard work. Food for thought, maybe I would be a new hero of the Underworld if that did happen.

"Hey, what a coincidence! To meet you here, how you doing man?" A male voice called from my back as I was walking to school.

Turning around I saw none other than the guy I was playing videogame with yesterday, Kaito Momota the self-entitled 'Luminary of The Stars'.

"Oh, Kaito. It is nice meeting you here and I am doing alright, just a bit sore that is all." I said to him. He was someone that was just like Gonta in that I instantly found him interesting and good to be around. However, instead of Gonta's innocence in wanting to protect others, he just has that vibe that makes others think of him as a close friend almost instantly.

"Yeah, same to you Joseph. I didn't know you were studying in Kuoh academy," he said as we approached the school and entered it. Peko remained vigilant the entire time, as if she feared that at any given moment someone or something might pop up and attack me but even she didn't put as much focus on him as would be the norm for her.

He even managed to make an impression on her, which is truly surprising as she would be my definition of overprotectiveness.

Kaito and I started to chat for a while, anything and everything that passed through our minds were spoken quite freely and it was a good time.

"Joseph, if it isn't too much to ask but do you know where I can find a girl named Mikan? She is a third-year student and a member of the student council here." Kaito said, making me curious.

Mikan may be quite the beauty but I have never seen anyone coming from outside looking for her like this. I have heard that there are some guys that come from all places to look for Rias (if they were too pushy they may or may not have been pushed down a hill by thighs that may or may not be under the control of my family, who knows really), Akeno, Sona, and some of the other beauties of the school. Even some of my girlfriends were not excluded, despite how I went out of my way to ask Demiurge-sensei to send some of his less friendly Yakuza members to roughen them up, and there still are fools who continue trying to get in my girl's panties. I guess that the fact that no one is left to say the rumors of the results may be counter-productive, but oh well it is not my fault they are dumb enough to do something like that.

It is as Einstein once said, there are only two things that are limitless, the universe and human's stupidity.

"Well, I can take you to her. Follow me." I said as I started leading him to the student council room.

On the way we talked some more and it was all good and all until we saw Mikan.

She was talking to Sakura and smiling happily, completely ignoring the approaching Issei that was talking to Asia and the fact that Nagito was close by.

Sigh, I can already see how this will go down.

CRASH

And, as I predicted, Nagito's luck added with Mikan clumsiness ended with a result that I expected.

She clashed with Issei and tripped on top of him, rolling on the ground and ending up in a more than compromising position with him.

Normally this would be seen as good luck for the pervert but considering how Asia was looking hurt at what she was seeing and that Ogami-san seems to be one step away from removing his head and shoving it up his ass so deep that it will need surgery if they ever want to find his head again, the 'good' luck was not good at all.

However, the maddest person wasn't the small giant made of muscles besides the two, but the guy beside me.

"Get the hell away from my big sister you asshole!" Kaito said before rushing in and basically kneeling Issei's face as he tried to get him away.

As Issei fell I noticed that despite how dramatic this whole thing was it didn't have any actual strength behind the attack. He just wanted to get his message across and probably even if Issei was a normal human he would at most feel a bit more on the cheek later today.

A cheap price considering that he was massaging Mikan's breasts in the middle of the school. Accident or not there is no brother that would be able to see this and be cool with it.

Oh, now that I think about it this means that he is Mikan's brother so he also comes from that bloodline, I think he will probably be approached by either Sona or Rias before the end of the day.

After all, a descendant of a Good isn't something that can be easily ignored. And, even if he currently has not a shred of magic energy in him his latent potential is probably enormous.

If neither of those girls moves maybe I myself will, but considering how I noticed Sona looking here from a window of the third floor I think I won't have a turn.

Oh well, I guess I shouldn't be too gluttonous and try to get so much so fast. I did get some good stuff last night, I should not be greedy.

After that it was Kaito and Issei butting heads with each other, they clearly were not getting along from the get-go.

This, however, was not my problem.

* * *

Entering school, I saw how there was a certain mood on the eyes of the devils from the other peerages, it was especially obvious on the newly turned devils, but I guess I get where this is coming from. They must have heard what happened in the church and are now afraid of me and my peerage, well I guess some of them are.

For the ones more used to the Underworld this isn't anything much at all so they probably are more wary of the power my peerage has considering how we will inevitably fight during the Young Devil's meeting starting one and a half months from now. This also means that during this time Riser will show up and I will have to be here to make sure that his hands don't go to be too smart for their own good.

Besides, I want to meet Ravel as I haven't seen her for a while now. I wonder why she stopped answering my letters (she, for some weird reason, wants to try and make things like her parents did when they were engaged so the letters instead of doing the logical thing and use phones, or just send a message as normal people would do).

* * *

"So, did you find the kid?" A black haired young man asked his white-haired friend.

"No, not yet. Apparently, his parents died not long ago and he was thrown on streets as a beggar, but finding one beggar in the middle of a city this big isn't simple and we can't just go ahead and act like we usually do as this is too close to the Catholic Church's headquarters." The white-haired male said.

"Continue your search throughout the city. We need the kid, especially now that our resources in the Middle East has been cut down so much these last few days."

"Understood, Cao Cao-sama." Said the white haired male, Siegfried.

They were searching for the key to a wonderful weapon that would be so useful in their heroic quest to exterminate the monsters of this world. And for that, he needed the Longinus attached to that kid.

They needed Annihilation Maker and its capacity to create monsters. And for that, they needed to find Leonardo.

But still, finding one small teen in Milan was not easy at all. But in the end, it was just a matter of time and luck before they find the kid.

* * *

"Joseph-sama, have you decided on who should go with you to Milan this weekend?" Peko asked as we sat down to have lunch on the rooftop.

"Hum, I haven't really thought about it. Maybe I could take just you as to enjoy a romantic walk and dinner there." I said, making her blush a bit but maintaining a stoic face.

"Please don't joke around, just I would hardly be enough for your protection considering the proximity to the Vatican." Peko said, denying my offer.

But don't think you will get away from this date so easily, you little kudere!

"Then let's take Narberal and Komaeda with us." I said cheekily. She can't say I am not taking extra security and I can probably send those two somewhere to enjoy a romantic mood somewhere else.

However, just as my plan was about to work.

"Jo-kun, what are you two talking about here?" Phillufy said before basically letting herself go and dropping on my back.

"He was telling me about how he would like you to come with us on a trip this weekend to Milan." Peko said, ignoring my stinky eye I sent her way.

She is way too slippery, if I didn't know any better I'd say she doesn't like me but that is impossible anyway. Is she embarrassed about going on a trip with me just the two of us?

Well, ain't she a cutie?

"Oh, isn't that the place where there is a lot of spaghetti and things like that? I will go too." Phillufy said in her usual 'my pace' tone, but I can see her eyes shining a bit more when she thinks of the food there.

Well, I suppose it is all fine then. On this trip, it will be me, Peko, Phillufy, Narberal, and Komaeda. It will be a one day trip so even with Komaeda's luck wouldn't screw it up, right?


	28. Chapter 28

These last few days have been nothing but running around to get things done, not only I had to prepare a LOT of pages for my book I also had to write lots of codes for my game.

While these things are fun to do they are also undeniably tiresome and time-consuming, but if I intend to make destiny happen and make Maria accept her place beside me I have to keep going full force.

In the end, I managed to get everything done right on time and I am now on a particular jet for Milan.

Normally this would be seen as utterly futile and excessive expenses, but I must get there as fast as possible if I want to get everything done for tonight.

After all, today is Peko's birthday!

I want to make her as happy and, as such, I secretly reserved a spot on one of the best restaurants in Milan and even reserved a room in a fancy hotel for us to spend the night. I had to pull a lot of strings and even ask Demiurge to help me by pulling some strings with the italian mafia as well to get these things, and it is all worth it.

I even talked to Narberal and asked her to disguise herself as me and go to the presentation of my sculptures and even go back on the plane along with Komaeda to disguise that I have left.

All to let me show Peko how much I appreciate her and to enjoy some time with her on her birthday, I want to make this day as special for her as I possibly can.

"Young Master, is everything alright? You have been showing a strange smile for a while now and haven't even touched your food." Peko said from across from me.

Ops, I was so distracted thinking about what will happen later tonight that I even forgot about my food. And I even managed to get a fancy chef to prepare it too, it would be offensive for Teruteru if I didn't even appreciate his work.

Taking the first bite I can only say that the guy truly is an amazing cook. I guess Komaeda's recommendation for contracting him makes some sense after all.

Not that I will contract him full time. He gives me the same vibes Issei does when he is thinking something perverted but the vibe is many times stronger, especially when he saw Phillufy.

If his food wasn't this good I would have thrown him out of the plane then and there, and if the plane was on the ground or not wouldn't be my concern.

Let's forget that, I should just enjoy the good food and good company instead of thinking about anything else.

* * *

Milan, this is truly an amazing and beautiful city. So much history, so important for the world's development to what it is now, it is just a wonderful sight every time I come here.

"Jo-kun, I want to go sightsee." Phillufy said as soon as she got out of the plane.

Well, I suppose it is fine. This is, after all, a trip to another country and we still have a few hours before the exposition. Besides, I am sure she wants to go look for cake shops and things like that. She does love sweets after all.

"If you are looking for a place to see I would recommend to get to the market near from here. I heard it is quite good and there are plenty of options there." A male voice said not far from us, turning in the direction it came from I saw a man of around 20 or something. He has blond hair, green eyes, and was wearing priest clothing.

"Heh, maybe we will Dulio." I said to the current strongest exorcist of the church. He is someone that is honestly hard to say who would be victorious if I were to fight him alone, which means quite a bit. From those I know there are few of my age range that are as strong as myself or Dulio. "Isn't it a bit of an overkill to send you just to watch over us?"

"Not too much I guess, you did show that you are above most exorcists already when you one-uped Xenovia-chan and Irina-chan last time it was decided that if there are to be escorts for you it should be between me and the older generation exorcists." Dulio said showing a resplendent smile.

"Well, at least you are not a pain in the ass to deal with." I said to him, and he only laughed at what I said.

This guy is what can only be described as too chill. I like him because of exactly this and if he wasn't so focused on the church I would try and make him one of my pieces.

Well, nothing that I can do anyway. I just wonder how Rias is doing today, she did tell me she would be going to try and meet two sacred gear users that were in Kuoh to see if she could add them to her peerage.

* * *

As Rias walked towards the orphanage she could only pray to Satan that things would work out well. She really wanted anything that could be an advantage and apparently, these two girls here could be just what she was looking for, especially if the fact they have high-class sacred gears is true.

It was only a shame that the new boy, Kaito if memory serves her right, ended up joining Sona's peerage before she even could talk to him.

At least she reached an agreement from Sona that she would not try to approach these two, and Joseph already said he wouldn't as he wanted her and her peerage to be as strong as possible.

Anyway, as she knocked on the door of the orphanage she noticed that the whole place was quite run down and just about to fall.

Maybe she could try and get this better, even if she didn't manage to get the two users here this still would not be a bad action.

"Hello, are you the one that wanted to meet those two girls?" A fat woman said as she opened the door. She was, for the lack of better words, completely and utterly uninterested about what happens to the two girls so if Rias wanted to take them away this woman wouldn't even complain. But just to make sure Rias used a mind-control spell on her to make her more complacent on helping her to meet the two girls here.

Entering the place Rias saw how the interior was even more run down than the outside. It was bizarre that anyone even lived here on Rias' opinion.

"Wait, Shirabe! You can't leave and go play alone, desu." A girl's voice rang from the interior as another girl on rollerblades came out of the inside with a smile on her face.

"No way, I want to play for a bit and you let your service with me the last two times Kiri-chan." The girl said with a mostly monotonous tone but a clear edge of happiness was noticeable for anyone who heard.

This was followed by another girl running from the inside with a broom in hand and a pout as she started calling out to her friend that was giggling away.

"You two, come here this instant and stop this idiocy. This young lady here wants to meet you two." The fat woman said, making the two girls shiver from the tone which made Rias think they were quite cute.

The two then slowly approached Rias and the fat woman, allowing Rias to see the two clearly.

The first one was a 13 or 14 years old girl that already was developing some curves. She was a bit taller than Koneko, had short blond hair that has an X shaped clip on it and she also has green eyes.

The other girl is of the same stature and lacks any curves just as Koneko and she also looks like between middle school and a first year. She has light pink eyes with long, straight black hair in a hime cut. Her hair is held in two pig-tails tied with pink ribbons.

These two are Kirika Akatsuki and Shirabe Tsukiome, the future pawns of Rias Gremory.

* * *

After talking with Dulio we agreed to go to the general market to enjoy some of the local food.

Walking there I could not help but be enchanted by how lively and beautiful the whole place was, the whole place almost radiated a wonderful aura that made me want to spend much longer here than what I could. Well, one of the advantages of being a devil is the absurdly high life-spam so I probably WILL come here sometime in the future to spend a while but even so, this is still amazing.

The only problem I had was how Komaeda seemed to have been going through one of his waves of bad luck, he already tripped and fell face first in the floor 3 times, had birds poop on him twice, with one being in his food no less, and as the cherry on the cake his luggage seems to have caught fire due to some mysterious reason that no one can really understand so he now only has the clothes in his body. At least his money is still in his pocket so I guess it isn't of all bad.

I guess this means that something really good will be happening soon, but I still would rather if he didn't have to go through that. Then again his sacred gear is not something that is 'user-friendly' anyway so I guess there isn't much of an option.

As we walked down the streets, Phillufy already had begun sampling the foods around as well. Though, I guess that is to be expected of her since she DOES like to eat, probably like to et more than she likes me but less than she likes to sleep. I'll let her have her fun for now, but if she gets too crazy, then I'll have to step in as I don't want her to eat too much and get a stomach pain later at night.

Just when I think this...

SWIPE!

My eyes tracked a small blue blur discretely walking through some people. We were in a crowd, but somehow the kid managed to move through them with the grace of an experienced thief. It even reminds me a bit of that American series, White Collar's main protagonist Neal Caffrey (shame that the series ended like that, it was quite good after all).

In any case, that wasn't important right now, what WAS important, was that the kid moved through the crowd, made a beeline for Komaeda whilst the guy recovered from his recent tripping, and successfully swiped his wallet with skills only an expert pickpocket-er could have. I tried to see where he headed off, but he managed to get into the crowd once more to avoid being seen...

And Komaeda looked like he didn't even notice (maybe he did but just didn't care since it was not 'hope' that was robbed and him instead. It would be something he would think, and I knew this from experience). .. Sigh, great, just great.

Looks like Peko noticed as well, judging by the look she was giving me.

Whelp, time to see if we can go find that kid, it is better than allowing Komaeda's luck get even MORE out of hand. Last time I let his bad luck run rampant without fixing anything a safe almost fell down on his head out of nowhere and the strangest part was that the whole thing was full of stolen diamonds that we sold for a hefty sum.

His luck is just that weird.

"Peko, watch over the others I will go and catch Komaeda's money back." I said and started running before she could try and stop me.

After trying to catch the blur for a while I saw how he was just a kid. He was probably 12 or 13 years old, had tan skin and light blue hair.

As I continued to persecution I saw how he entered a side alley, so I followed him without any hesitation, but what I saw getting there was NOT what I expected.

A priest-looking white-haired male was holding down the kid, there were a few others there with him too and they all had dark smiles filled with malice as they looked at the struggling kid.

"Now you won't run anymore, brat. Stay calm and this will all be over before you know it." The priest-looking male said, his smile even eviler than the one the others were using. It was almost equally evil to the one Solution-chan sometimes show when I send her to eliminate someone unpleasant and allow her to play with the target.

And so, as a 'good' person I am (hypocrisy at its finest right there) I moved.

KICK

Before the male or the others could react I kicked the priest guy away from the boy.

"What are you doing?" The priest asked, holding down his bleeding nose.

"Saving this little thief from you? I thought my actions were quite obvious to understand, or are you too dumb and perverted to understand human speech?" I said.

"Of course I understand, but shouldn't you try to at least understand the situation before kicking someone in the face like that?" The priest said with the others around him nodding in agreement.

"Hum, some shady guy dressed as a priest was waiting in a dark alley to catch a small boy, throw him on the floor and say 'this will be over before you know it'. Isn't the situation self-explanatory?" I asked, making the priest's face heat up and the others around him take a step back.

"You know, I get where you are coming from but could you not accuse church members of that in front of me? My superiors would get all pissed if they know I let this slide." Dulio said as he appeared before me, I guess he did decide to follow me after all which isn't really surprising considering how I am probably his main surveillance priority.

"What? If you don't want me to say this then fix the damn system that allowed the situation to happen in the first place! Besides, I am talking about this rapist right now and not of your organization's problem with this sort of individuals." I said while pointing at the priest, who seemed to be EXTREMELY pissed by me acting like he is an unimportant extra on this whole situation.

"Ok, that is it. Everyone here dies." He said before taking out a long ass sword from his back and dashing at me.

When he reached my location he tried to slice me from the side, but I put my sword on the side and blocked his attack. He saw this and got even MORE pissed at me before taking out another sword and starting to attack me with both of them at high speeds, but I stopped all his attacks quite easily with my blade. What? I may not be that amazing with the sword but that is only when compared with a freak like Peko-chan, if you ignore her you would be hard pressed to find a better swordsman of my generation than myself.

Wait, now that I took a better look at this guy he is eerily similar to Freed. And those two swords are clearly demonic blades too.

And, if memory serves me right then this guy is probably Siegfried. He is one of the main lieutenants of Cao Cao and he probably knows all sorts of interesting intel that could be used to destroy his organization and possibly reinforce the Barbatus household as they do know how to force someone to reach balance breaker faster.

Lucky, finding this bastard is definitely lucky.

Wait, if they send him of all people to come to capture this kid and considering his age he probably is Leonardo, the boy with the Longinus **Annihilation Maker** and he still hasn't been approached by the hero faction. If I was late for even a minute he probably would be taken but now I have the chance to impress him AND get one Cao Cao's lieutenants.

Boy, if this is Komaeda's luck shinning through this situation I can only thank him later.

"You, who ARE you?" Siegfried asked as he locked blades with me.

"My name is Joseph Barbatus, the heir to the Barbatus household, the heavenly demon, the hope incarnate (as my bishop would say), and the wrecker of your shit." I said before disengaging the sword before making multiple magic circles appear around us, the elemental magic of many natures flew at him at high speed.

He cut down every single one of them in a show of swordsmanship, but due to this distraction he did not see my right hand outstretched.

" **Shinra Tensei.** " And with that he was pulled in by a strong gravity, forcing him to approache me.

He smirked as he took advantage of approaching me to plunge one of his swords at me, but his smile faded when I simply ignored the pain to give him a good punch in the face.

Teeth flew everywhere as he was thrown away from me and my wound closed quickly enough.

My sacred gear is broken as fuck.

I tried to use this chance he is somewhat weakened to finish him off, Satan knows how many problems this sucker may cause in the future after all.

With my decision set, I put proceeded to jump at him, exchanging attacks at high speed as I mostly ignored defense to instead put more pressure into attacking. Cut, slash, pierce, I continued to use simple movements to cut him over and over and even using three blades he was barely able to defend himself and even when his retaliation succeded and he managed to cut my body it simply regenerated quickly enough so it was an exercise in futility.

He jumped back after a while to disengage from me completely, which admittedly was a smart move since my attacks were very ferocious and dangerous, killing him would not be impossible even with his stronger body from who knows how many modifications (the church may do some very twisted things, but even I have to admit that the project responsible for his creation have done something right, not many humans can soldier a lung, liver, and stomach being pierced to continue to fight but for this guy it seems like minor inconvenience at best).

"Tch, don't get full of yourself you mere devil." Siegfried said before the guys behind him prepare a wave of attacks originating from their sacred gears or magic. "Don't think bad of me, this is merely how humans fight monsters after all." He said with a mocking smile on his face as he probably imagined me dying to this (not that this would happen, killing me isn't so simple that anyone can do, after all, my sacred gear assures that much)

However, the smile on Siegfried's face froze when a wave of cold passed by him and he no longer could feel the attacks that should be flying my way.

"Sorry, but causing too much destruction in the middle of Milan wouldn't be nice you know? What if one of the attacks ended up hitting a passerby, huh, Siegfried." Dulio said while looking at Siegfried. His hand was still outstretched as the effects of his sacred gear were clearly shown as all the humans from the other side were frozen over instantly before they could even realize what was going on.

Siegfried was starting to look nervous when the shadow below him enlarged and hands started pulling him inside. This was probably someone with a **Night Reflector** a sacred gear way too useful for running away.

"Tch, I guess this is it for now." Siegfried said to himself before turning my way and saying. "You got lucky this time, next time you will not be this fortunate monster." He said while pointing his hand at me, he probably thinks the combat ended and ended up showing a stupid opening.

A BAD idea.

Using _Jin_ I approached him quickly and before he could try and retake his arm or defend himself

SLICE

I cut down his left arm with the sword still in hand.

"Gghaaa! My arm, my fucking arm, I will kill you I definetly will kill yoooooouuuuuuuuuu-" Siegfried yelled in a mix of pain and fury before disappearing on the shadow just like the others there.

I even saw a shadow enlarging bellow Leonardo but a good stare from Dulio and the shadow receded, the user was probably rightfully afraid of pissing off the priest. But the decapitated arm was taken away right after I caught the demonic blade it was holding.

Really, why did Siegfried thought it was a good idea to stick ut his arm while teleporting slowly in the ground? Did he think I am such a naive person that I wouldn't have use such a clear opening?

Well, losing a demonic blade is punishment enough for this one, I am just said that it wasn't his neck that I claimed.

"So what do we do now?" Dulio asked with his hands interlocked with the back of his neck.

"For starters," I throw my sword to the side, stopping the sneaky kid from running away in the middle of the confusion as he was trying to get away as soon as the pursuers left. "Why don't we hear what the kid has to say?"

* * *

 **Writer's Note:**

 **Sorry for taking so long to post. I explained this in my other story but the fact is that I had a test last Sunday and will be having another this Sunday too, both tests are of extreme importance as they are what decide if my application to med school will be allowed or I will have to wait another year to try again.**

 **Anyway, don't expect a release this week, this one I haven't even seen my beta to fix since he was busy but I didn't want to make you guys wait so I am posting anyway.**

 **The fight could have been better, I know that, but fight scenes are a nightmare for me. I suck at them, no ifs, ands, or buts, I simply suck at them.**

 **I just hope you guys liked the chapter, reviews are more than welcome. If you have an idea for characters you would like to see I am more than open to it, especially one knight for Joseph as this spot is still somewhat open (I have an idea but it still is open to change).**

 **Anyway, until next time. Peace.**


	29. Chapter 29

After I caught Leonardo by the back of the neck I started taking him back to the others, strangely enough, it looked like I was carrying a cat instead of a person but that doesn't really bother me.

Taking care of an annoyed cat isn't anything new to me, especially when said 'cat' was human-sized. Haineko does have her moments where she is a true pain in the ass.

Anyway, after walking for a while we reached the others and decided to go to the hotel sooner. To be fair this should have been a romantic trip for me and Peko and dealing with a brat and a group of super annoying prey (Lo'lo influenced me after years of living together) was not part of the deal, but I guess this is part of what life is like.

"Young Master, is there anything bothering you? You seem more irritated than normal." Peko said as she walked beside me on the hotel corridor.

Well, I guess I am not THAT okay with the whole situation at hand. But who can blame me? I wanted ONE day to enjoy time with Peko, to make her feel like a princess and shit, but now here I am serving as a babysitter to some kid while trying to ignore the fact that a crazy priest is looking for me right now. And, while true that this is great news overall since I now have means to remove a big chunck of Cao Cao's battle potential with the removal of Leonardo and that I also obtained a demonic sword that I believe is **Nothung** as I did look over info about demonic swords, I still wish it wasn't NOW that this happens.

One good night with one of my girlfriends, and in her birthday no less, shouldn't be that much to ask!

"Sorry for this Peko, it is just that this was not how I thought this day would be like." I said. We had at most 13 more hours before I had to go back to Kuoh, and I only had a total of 5 before Narberal had to go back.

Things were getting a bit tight for time here, and knowing that there will probably not be any late night enjoyment is not helping my mood in any way.

Cockblocked by a small child giving me a stinky eye, I am not a parent yet so why is this happening to me?!

Entering the room I put the kid down, he instantly made to dash away from the room but Peko caught him this time putting her hands on his shoulders. After that failed he 'calmed down' but it was clear that his eyes were scaning the entire room at all times.

Meanwhile Komaeda decided to sit in a corner to 'watch hope take action' or some shit like that, after a while you simply stop trying to comprehend him and accept his actions as 'whatever'. Narberal positioned herself behind me, probably as protection since I did not order her to move in this specific fashion, and Dulio caught a chir and sat dowm with a can of coke in hand that he caught in the frigobar.

"So, I guess introductions are in order. My name is Joseph Barbatus, the others here are Narberal Gamma, Komaeda Nagito, Dulio Gesualdo, and the pretty lady behind you is Peko Pekoyama." I said pointing to everyone in the room. "And what is your name?"

"...why should I tell you? Because you kicked that rapist?-

* * *

Somewhere else in Milan Siegfried suddenly got the feeling that someone was accusing him of something he was not!

He was just a priest that was walking in dark alleys trying to kidnap a small boy while being dressed as a priest, how could anyone think of him as anything other than a hero?

* * *

"Or should I believe you because you brought me here by force? Maybe because you said some names that I don't even know if are really yours or not?" The boy said accusingly and hearing his words I can only think one thing.

I am actually liking the annoying brat.

He might be just a kid to my eyes but it is undeniable that he is at least smart and wary of his surroundings, he is at least capable of distrusting everything and everyone, an admirable quality in my honest opinion. And the fact that he was honest enough to say outright that he doesn't trust me makes me like him even more.

"Yeah, I suppose you are right." I said, making his eyes bulge a bit. He probably thought I was gonna get mad at him for talking against my words, but that is as far from the truth as possible right now.

If he did talk and accepted everything I have to say without any questions whatsoever I would look down on him. Trust is something to be earned and idiocy is punishable with death, this is what I learned from both Sebastian-sensei and Demiurge-sensei respectively.

"Okay, so why don't you tell me something else entirely. Are you happy with it all?" I asked.

That earned a raised eyebrow from him.

"With what you mean?"

"Well, everything really. Your life, your limitations, your power, your current existence of having to steal to survive, are you happy with it?" I said.

"Oy oy, let's not try to start pacts while I am right here okay? My superiors would get pissed if they were to find out I saw this and did nothing." Dulio said with some seriousness.

"What, it is not like I am requesting his soul or anything and besides I am what I am and understanding is something your God did say was important riiighhht?" I told him making him frown a bit.

But in the end he relaxed again and stopped complaining, he was someone that liked to obey God's words instead of his superiors and he would intercede if I did anything excessive anyway so it was fine, sort of, it is kind of a blurry line here but let's ignore this.

"I still can't understand how a devil can know so much about the bible." Dulio said under his breath probably trying to not get 'caught' speaking this.

"Huh, isn't it obvious that someone in my position should at least understand a rough outline of what the bible says. Even if I get a headache it still is a good way to know at least what you guys from the Heaven side think, even if we aren't that much of an enemy anyway." I said making him nod stiffly.

It may seem strange but, amongst the devil race, my house was probably the one with the best relationship with Heaven. We were the ones that fought beside the angels during the heavenly dragons attack and also made many operations against the fallen together. We also never indiscriminately acted against the innocent like most other houses had in the past and have some connections to the other races and thus serve as a rallying point between Heaven and those races.

It was sort of weird, but I suppose it is fine just as well. It isn't so different than the relationship that the priests and colonizers during the American colonization, both can't seem eye to eye sometimes but overall they can live in somewhat of an harmony (as long as you ignore the smaller movements to undermine each other)

I then turned back to Leonardo who was looking even more warily to us before he said.

"How could I even like this? Everything sucks since my parents died a few weeks back everything sucks! I hate EVERYTHING here, the people that don't help, the scraps that I have to eat, the loneliness and how powerless I am. I hate it, Hate it, HATE IT!" He said, by the end he was yelling with pure rage in his tone.

I waited for him to calm down a bit, and after a few seconds of him yelling he finally calmed down somewhat.

"Do you want to change this?" I asked.

"Huh?"

"I said, 'do you want to change this?'. If you do I can help you." I said, and as expected of someone who doesn't trust others he only snickered and said.

"And why should you? What is it you want?" He said.

"What, is it so hard to believe I am a good person that just wants to help?" I asked while trying my best to show an honest image. Well, 'best' is a strong world, I just did enough to someone who ACTUALLY looks for signs to notice my lie.

This is a small test, a test to see if this kid can see through my words.

"Honestly speaking, you isn't a good person at all." Leonardo said.

"Hoh, and why do you say that?"

"Because I can see it, you may not be outright evil but you are also not a good person. 'Good' people's eyes are different, they almost shine with goodness but they are too naive. Naive like my parents were. I don't trust naive people, so tell me honestly what is it you want?" Leonardo said

"...Good, very good. I am glad I am not speaking with some idiotic children here." I said, revealing my true feelings. The others in the room did not react as they did know that I like this sort of setting more than babysitting (especially Dulio since he once took me to an orphanage he takes care off and saw how I was not that good with kids but dealt with the mistrustful adults quite easily). "Okay, I want from you a few things. If you follow my requests I can assure you that at the worse you will be coming back to where you came from. This will be a give and take situation, the more you answer my questions the more I will answer yours.."

"...okay." He said after a long pause.

"First, I want to know your REAL name."

"My name is Leonardo, Leonardo Rossi. What is your real name, because I doubt you really are named after a devil?" Leonardo said, proving my suspicions that he actually knows a bit about demonology. Well, at least he knows some of the houses from the Ars-Goetia, which in itself means that he at least has a good education in many different areas as this one would hardly be the first priority for any kid to learn.

"Heh, actually this IS my real name. I am just surprised you still haven't identified me by yourself, I am kind of a big deal after all." I said with a small smile, making him tilt his head in doubt. "Here, just look over the internet for my name and you will see." I said throwing him one of my cellphones (a spare one I had just in case, considering how easily I sometimes end up in a fight having it break wouldn't be strange after all).

He caught the phone and really starts looking over it, for a while he managed to keep serious but after some time his eyes started to shine as he looked at me again.

"Wait, you are the creator of Supreme Leader Simulator? I love that game!" He said, making me chuckle a bit.

Supreme Leader Simulator was a game where you start of as the leader of a small gang and has to build up your strength until you can take over the whole world, but the best part was how I managed to put many actual usable facts from real life in the game (something I got info about from the gangs under Demiurge and my house control).

This is one of my most popular games and a personal favorite of mine, but knowing that this kid likes this game in specific really explains a few things. I DID put there how to better avoid police and pursuers after you commit evil acts, which in hindsight maybe wasn't my brightest idea to put on a kid's game.

Meh, it was popular anyway and I am a devil so fuck that.

"Yeah, glad that you liked the game." I said with a smile. "Now for the second question, did that thing that happened in the alley happened before with you, the whole people after you I mean?"

"I guess, I did notice that there were some people looking for me so I tried my best to not get caught. But this is the first time someone actually caught me. My turn, why did you protect me?"

"Because it was interesting and because I felt that you have something in you that is quite interesting. Seeing you get captured and taken away just like that against your will isn't something I would approve, unless you are a 'bad person' in which case I would not mind whatever happens to you." I said in complete honesty, I just haven't said a word about what EXACTLY he has but the rest is the truth. Even if I didn't know anything about the kid and he was an actual 'street rat' I would still help as long as he didn't do anything too evil (stealing Komaeda's wallet doesn't count as I put all the blame on my bishop's shitty luck).

He looks a bit skeptical but he doesn't react negatively to my comment about how I would not hesitate on leaving him to suffer who knows what if the situation was different. This brat is getting more and more interesting and great in my eyes, how did he become basically a doll during the whole hero faction shit? Oh, who am I kidding? I would bet a hundred thousand dollars that he was hypnotized by magic to remove any 'unnecessary part', all for the sake of turning this cheeky brat into a weapon.

Many would say that I can say much against it as my family does make something similar to some of our captured enemies, but we only do that to those we consider enemies anyway so I have no issue with what my family does. I am a hypocrite, a proud one at that!

"Now it is my turn, what do you intend to do after getting out of this door? Go back to live as a petty thief while running away from people who clearly are stronger than you? Run away from town and hope they don't find you? Or roll over and hope nothing happens?" I asked, making him freeze.

He probably hasn't thought this much yet.

"I-I don't know. I will find some way to live, I will survive through this and everything in whatever way I can." Leonardo said while clenching his fist.

Interesting, he truly is a kid that is trying his best to survive and win no matter what. I am truly liking him more and more, maybe I can make him a surrogate little brother much like Entoma is my surrogate little sister. That could be interesting as well.

"Good, you truly is good! Do you want to ask anything else?" I asked.

"Yes, I want to ask what exactly do I have that would make others interested in me? I doubt you would have talked so much with me without a reason and those guys didn't come without a reason either, so what is it?"

"You have something called a sacred gear, it is a magic item made by the Catholic God long ago that can have all types of powers. I am not sure how strong yours is but this is probably the reason why they attacked you, a sacred gear can be seen as a blessing or a curse depending on how you look at it because while it can grant amazing powers to otherwise weak humans it also makes them a target for those who would like to use said powers." I explained to the kid. "Okay Leonardo, I will give you one last question before I give you MY last question. What happens next will all depend on you."

He tensed while the others looked amusedly at our conversation. They probably thought it funny how I was treating a child of most likely no more than 12 but that isn't a problem for me.

Well, most of the others were looking at this. Komaeda was in his corner writing down what I believe is a poem about hope... let's ignore him.

"...What are you?" Leonardo asked after a long while.

I grinned at his question. This was truly a smart brat, if I do manage to rope him in he would be so useful and having someone like this around would be truly great.

"I am a Devil, or to be more specific part devil as I do have human blood too." I said and I could clearly say that he did not struggle against Peko's hand, but he is looking at me as if I was stupid.

Well, I suppose he needs more proofs after all.

Releasing my wings I felt a bit more relaxed as this was how my body should be like more often.

Leonardo looked like he was just about to scream and cry, but after a few minutes of this he finally calmed down somewhat.

"Are you done yet or do you need to catch some fresh air before you can continue your screaming marathon?" I asked him mockingly, making his face get red in embarrassment. "Hey, don't worry, okay? I get it that seeing a devil is surprising and all but it isn't like I want to devour your soul or anything like that. I just have one last question for you and then we will have settled this whole thing." I explained to him, making him calm down. Good, now he probably will listen properly. "Do you want to enter a contract with me?"

The silence in the room lasted for quite a while this time, Leonardo's face changed expression many times as he clearly thought of many things

"What?" Leonardo said incredulously.

"A contract, it is a very simple process really you agree to what I say and then write down your name in this," I said taking out an actual contract for him to sign, this one was a special version that would not need to have anyone to write it down anything besides the name as it would record the terms spoken instantly. "and it will be done."

He looks even more warily at me, so I decided to sign Peko to release his shoulders so as to let him feel freer.

"If you accept the terms are like this: first - you will be treated as a provisional member of my peerage, something like family if you want to think like this, until you are 15 years old, but you will remain as a human; I will not demand of you to act in any dangerous situation whatsoever and will prioritize your life whenever possible; third is that you will be given the chance to get as strong as possible and will not be shown any disrespect; fourth is that all your accommodations will be taken care off by me, that includes a proper salary and payment for whatever service you make; fifth and last is that if at any point you WANT to become an official member of my peerage a slot will be available for you."

Dulio made to say something, he probably didn't like that I was trying to make a kid join me this young, but even then he decided to remain quiet in the end. This may not seem that fair with Leonardo but this way he will get plenty of protection and letting him go right now is the same as delivering the boy to those who want to catch him. At least with me, Leonardo will be safer, I will not make him do anything against his moral code or dangerous for him, and will remain human as long as he wants.

Besides, I may be somewhat well known for being evil but I also am known for how I am overprotective of those from my peerage to the point of being overbearing (once someone tried to kill Chris after she was found as a devil. Those who tried to harm her, their families, and even their pets were never found again the next week, I had to look for them after all and killing people inside the Vatican wasn't exactly easy either but I did it anyway and I would do it all over again if anyone threatened them). And, taking the kid to the church was no different than condemning the kid to exactly the same thing that the hero faction would have done, especially considering that Leonardo has a strong gear. Dulio knows as well as me that the corruption of the church runs too deep and some kid with no background surging with a sacred gear would at best be treated as expendable and at worse as a lab rat, heck I do not doubt that there would be some that would try to indoctrinate, hypnotize, or even outright remove his personality altogether to try and obtain his 'help' as he is someone who can produce an army for the church to use. It would possibly break the balance of power between the three factions, and this is too risky of a situation to let the church and its corruption to manage.

"G-Give me some time to think." Leonardo said after a while. "But could you tell me more of, well, everything I don't know about this?"

I nodded and started explaining to him everything about the word that isn't normally seem by humanity. About the supernatural side of things.


	30. Chapter 30

In the end, Leonardo heard everything I had to say about the world, he didn't react strongly towards any of it but I could notice how he sometimes would shake a bit. I guess he is trying to stay strong but now that I am fully revealing everything about the world to him he is realizing how precarious his position actually is.

Heh, now that I think about it I feel a bit like a Winchester, what? I am explaining about something that should have been merely a legend for the normal humans and acting nonchant while shattering someone else's understanding of the world.

Good. It is better that he understands his new reality quickly enough as, otherwise, he might truly decide to try his luck outside and be captured.

After I finished talking about the world I decided to explain about devils, peerages, and my own peerage as well. I probably talked to the kid for at least 3 hours non-stop but I felt refreshed talking to someone who could take in all the info I had to offer without any great problem.

You know, even if he didn't have the sacred gear I know he has I would probably try and rope him in any way. If nothing else his learning capacity is astonishing and I am sure that with time he would reach great things even if he didn't have his sacred gear.

It isn't like I feel a need to look at only the immediate use of someone to add them to my peerage. I honestly prefer someone whois hardworking towards their own goals than someone who only has potential going for him but with no drive. Besides, even if I do worry about beating the missions I was given when I reached this world I still have to look for how my future will be and get surrounded by people I don't like wouldn't be all that great.

After we finished our talk it was already night time, I asked Narberal to disguise herself as me and go to the exposition so as to not raise suspicion. I asked Nagito to go with her at a distance so as to help her if needs be, I wanted Dulio to go too as I wanted to spend some time with Peko but he adamantly refused as he wanted to make sure he followed his mission and because I theoretically am at a greater risk of being attacked as they might try to kidnap Leonardo now that they think I left.

Not that I actually am, I did spend some time here and, as a proficient magician, I obviously put many layers of defense in this whole hotel in this time I was here.

As the night passed I sat beside Peko, I put my hand over her small callous hands. She reacts a bit, trying to pull her hand away as she is embarrassed whenever someone touches her hand as it isn't a 'feminine' hand. It is full of callous, tough, and doesn't have a single hit of softness in it, but I like it anyway so I firmly held her hand anyway.

After a while, she gives up trying to take her hand away. She tries to act like she doesn't like it, but I can see that her lips curled up just a little bit.

What a kudere, she truly is a lot of work to pass the shell but at least when she does comes out of it I can only think it is beautiful.

I then look right at her and see that she is looking at Leonardo. He is currently sleeping like a little ball, and t his face looks so peaceful right now that he does get sort of cute in his own way.

Her figure now while illuminated by the moonlight is especially beautiful, like a paint made by God himself. Her beautiful and silky silver hair has a shine that words can not hope to describe and her red eyes look like the sun right now, but, instead of the absolute power they normally show, they have a shine that reminds the looker of the gentle sun during the spring.

"You want one?" I said.

"What?"

"A kid, do you want one?" I asked again, this time she flushes so much that she might as well have painted her face crimson.

She just kept opening and closing her mouth, she didn't know what to say until she finally adopted her stoic face and said.

"I am a tool, a child of Joseph-sama should be with someone wonderful and respectful like Rias-sama or Ravel-sama, not something like me."

"...You truly are the stupidest person I have ever met in my whole life." I said with a small chuckle.

"What?" She asks turning to me.

KISS

I kissed her before she could react, the feelings I want to transmit were all in the kiss. How much I care, appreciate, and like her, I put all that I could in this gentle stolen kiss.

"You may call yourself a tool as much as you want, but remember that by the end of the day I see you as Peko Pekoyama. The girl that used to run after me and get flustered all the time, that tried her hardest for years to protect me, and someone that has the purest heart I have ever met. I love you Peko, and I will continue loving you no matter what you do." I said before kissing her again, but this time the kiss was much more full of passion than before. I don't want to hear her refuting me or anything like that, I want to show her, to force her to understand that I do love her.

After some time she started answering my passionate kiss with her own passion, it was getting quite passionate here with my clothes and hers getting messed up quite a bit as I pulled her in a tight hug. My hands wrapped around her tight waist my fingers passing through her silky hair as she awkwardly put her hand in my chest.

Oh, I want to ravage her. Here and now, I want to enjoy her everything and give her my everything. To crave in her body how much I like her, to make her incapable of ever doubting my words. But I can't.

A fucking BRAT is in the room.

Is this what parents feel like? To have to stop in the middle of their make-out session because some sleazy brat decides to show up and ruin everything?

If so I don't want to be a parent any time soon, I would rather enjoy my youth to the fullest. Especially if I can share it with someone as amazing as this girl in my arms.

* * *

A few hours later I was sitting down on the balcony. Peko was beside me reclining in my chest, a satisfied and happy smile on her face.

"Hey," a voice said from the back, ruining the mood as Leonardo entered the balcony.

"What is it, brat? Want to ruin the mood here?" I asked, but even though I showed animosity towards him Leonardo did not flinch or anything of the sort.

Admirable, he truly is someone that is worth being friends with.

"I decided. I will accept your deal, but only under one condition." Leonardo said as he continued looking warily at me.

"Hoh, to think you would bargain with me. You truly are a fun brat, brat. Ok, tell me what is it you want." I said with a smile.

He continued with his stoic face as he saw my reaction, but I noticed a flash of relief? Happiness? Expectation?

I don't know for certain but he at least isn't quite as negative about me anymore.

"I want you to take me to the graveyard my parents are. I, I want to say a proper goodbye." Leonardo said.

"Okay, I would recommend doing that anyway." I instantly answered.

He is just a child, he lost his parents way too young and there is no way he 'got over it' that easily and instantly. Before he was probably too worried about survival to do anything else but now that he finally has the time he needs to go there.

Have more of a closure so to say.

"...When can we leave?" Leonardo asked stoically.

Well, normally I would prefer a more formal approach. By the sunset, with a bouquet and if possible some candles to boot. Make it more heartfelt and let him cry as much as he want, if he desired to keep his more masculine appearance I would try my hand in one of the druidic spells Mare taught me to make it rain just enough to hide his tears.

But honestly speaking we are pressing for time here.

"I would say that we go there now. I need to go back to Japan in a few hours, Narberal and Komaeda already are probably on the plane so the only time we have is right now. Sorry if it is a bit in a hurry, I wil make it up to you later." I said, hoping he would understand.

Luckily enough the kid is mature for his age and easily enough nods his head.

Well then, I guess this is definitive. The night I planned didn't come anywhere close to what I expected. Not only I did no get any action but I have to end it on a graveyard. Sigh, I blame this all in Komaeda's Longinus and its twisted luck.

* * *

My name is Leonardo, Leonardo Rossi.

I come from a small family of refugees from the Middle East. My parents changed names when they got here in Italy so as to try and get closer to this new country, to be accepted and try to be more of someone from here and to run away from the immigration department as they were not exactly legal in the country.

But even though they were illegal refugees they still lived a comfortable life, they had me not long after settling down and I believe they loved me very much.

Our lives were great overall, we didn't have much in the way of money or possessions but we had each other and that was more than enough. They owned a small restaurant, Mom made the food (sometimes I helped) while Dad took care of the register and the finances.

We were happy.

At least, we were until the sickness arrived.

I don't know what it was that caught them, it was just some sickness that with proper medical care everything would be fine. But, my parents couldn't get that care.

We were not legal members of this country and the health care plans wouldn't accept my parents at all. In the end, my parents had no option but to continue enduring the sickness while they worked, they tried their best every day.

I helped as much as I could, even when I was tired I continued doing my very best to help them with whatever they needed. But it wasn't enough.

Not at all.

They, they died six weeks ago.

In their dying breath, there was no one else but me with them, no doctor, no nurse, no friends, no nothing. Just me, and no matter how much I tried to pray to anyone who would listen they didn't recover. They died, and the last words they said were that I should survive and find some family for myself, people that would love me like family and that I should try to not close myself from the world.

They said that I should live a happy life, and that no matter what they do they would watch over me from heaven.

In that same night, I had to dig the holes to put them myself, no one else could help but I was their child and I was already 12 years old. I would manage it somehow.

And so I started digging through the dirt with an old shovel we had. It was a slow process but before I knew it I had passed out could due to hunger and tiredness. When I woke up the holes were already opened and my parents were gently put inside.

I still have no idea how this happened but it did nonetheless.

I then started purring in the dirt above them with my own hands. It took the whole day but I managed it somehow. I then brought a big stone that looked like two-in-one and put them above their graves and with a marker I wrote down their names and the words 'they will be missed'.

And they were, for me at least.

It was weird, how despite my life change so much and so much bad things happening to me the world keeps turning.

I had to quickly do my best to survive, the savings my parents left was stolen by the bank that simply pretended I didn't exist and refused to give it back. The restaurant my family worked so hard to maintain was taken away together with our house as 'property of the state' after I trusted some people and signed a document I did not understand and didn't bother asking more and before I knew it the only thing I had left was the clothes on my body, but even that I suspect there were some that wanted to take it away if their talks about selling the boy was the truth.

So I ran, ran, and ran, and ran, and ran, all to survive it.

After that I found myself on streets I never saw, surrounded by people I have never meet and didn't even look at me, I was utterly alone.

As the days passed I tried to find some way to get food. I tried to find work, to ask, but nothing worked. It never did since my parents died.

That was when I realized that in this world you cannot trust everyone.

I then stole for the first time. It was some idiotic fatty that was careless and left an opening for me to do it. It was the first time I got to eat again, but I ate too much and too quickly thus throwing up everything.

But I had to survive so I continued eating.

I have to be strong I still have to find a new family like my parents asked, and I had to survive above all else.

And thus the days passed, I got more and more proficient in stealing. However even in the days I got nothing I sometimes found myself in the sudden possession of things like food or money, almost like something else went out and got it for me.

Those days sucked, I could not take a bath, my clothes were beyond dirty and ruined, I had to run away all the time, but at least things were mostly survivable.

However, even this wasn't something to last.

As I learned to be extra careful after a beating from other thiefs that said I was 'invading their territory' I noticed how some suspicious people apparently were looking for me.

I evaded then the best I could, trying to stay as low as possible, but hunger wasn't having any of that. I had to eat.

And so I decided to try my luck. I went out and after a while, I saw an easy target. His wallet was on his back pocket of his jacket, none of the people around him was paying attention and I could see that the wallet was quite full.

Quickly enough I took the wallet of this idiot and started running. I turned my head a bit and saw this big muscular blondie and another thinner blondie running after me, shit!

I ran and ran as fast as when I ran in the past from those strange man talking about selling me. I could only try and make them lose my trail when-

"Look what we have here!" A white-haired priest appeared he pushed me to the ground and took out a sword as he deviously smiled. "Now you won't run anymore, brat. Stay calm and this will all be over before you know it." Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!

I, I don't want this. I don't want to be taken away from this pedopriest like that! I need to survive, I need to find a new family, I still want to LIVE!

KICK

Suddenly, the pressure above me disappeared as the guy that was running after me suddenly appeared. He kicked away that priest and then started talking. I could not understand exactly what was going on, especially when they suddenly started swinging swords at each other and other weird things happened.

Especially when a bunch of shadows appeared and covered the priest, and how the blond hulk chopped of the priest's right arm like it was nothing much.

They, they are bloody crazy! I have to get away, I have to-

"Why don't we hear what the kid has to say?" I heard as the sword that still has plenty of blood in it appears in front of me.

Dad, Mom, I probably will be seeing you two soon enough.

* * *

In the end, nothing happened, is what I wanted to say.

This blond Hulk is called Joseph Barbatus, he is (for as unbelievable as it may sound) a devil.

We talked about many things, about things I had no idea about and explained my situation to me. He then talked about devils, angels, fallen angels, gods, demons, and all sorts of things I thought were just fairy tales.

It was all real.

And, I was part of it.

Joseph then talked about peerages, how they work and all that.

They, they may be the way. A way to make myself a family that will not die early, that will always be beside me when I need to.

Joseph offered to make me a temporary member of his peerage, and I am not stupid enough to not see how it beneficiates mostly me. For what he said having me as a temporary member doesn't let him use me on any match or thing like that, I would mostly be a dead weight unless I turned into a full-fledged member.

But, I don't know if I can trust him, even if this deal would protect me from anyone trying to force my hand.

I still didn't know if I should accept this or not, devils are supposed to be evil and deceitful creatures.

And then, while I was pretending to sleep as I thought of the situation I saw it.

I saw him talking to that silver-haired girl, his actions and hers, I saw no evil in that. I only saw love, one that was as pure as the one my parents always had.

I, I guess they are not evil after all. Or at least not heartless monsters like those men that took everything from me.

But, if I do follow through and accept his proposal, I still need to go and say goodbye to my parents. I need one last time to say a proper goodbye to them.

I talked to Joseph about it and, despite how I ruined the mood he had going with the silver-haired girl (I believe the name was Piko, or was it Peko?), he accepted taking me there.

As we walked down these streets I saw how some people were looking at me, like I didn't belong in the middle of these two pretty and well-dressed people. Being all dirty and with such bad clothes, I guess it was inevitable.

"Raise your head kid, I am here so you are not allowed to feel inferior to anyone else!" Joseph said as he put a hand on my shoulder, as I looked up to see his face I saw a smile of absolute confidence but his eyes showed that he was worried about me.

It oddly enough reminded me of how the other kids on my neighborhood sometimes said their older brothers appeared to them.

I did as he said, I raised my head and look straight ahead with confidence. This was the first time since my parents died that I truly looked ahead, that I had confidence in the future.

Peko ruffed my hair in what I think is her way to show affection but she is so clumsy that I don't even know for certain, but the soft smile on her face was definitely something I recognize. It was similar to the one my mom used to give me when I did something right.

This, this feeling is nice.

As we reached the graveyard I saw the tombstone symbolizing where my parents are.

I kneeled in front of their grave, asking them to bless me from whatever place they may be. That they would look over me and help guide me from whatever place they are. And telling them how much I love and miss them.

"Heh, what a touching moment. If only there wasn't any dirty devil here things would be better. Let's fix that!"

A voice said from close by, I quickly turned to the side and saw that Joseph was already there with his back to me as the priest attacked him.

I think this was what people would say 'round 2', huh.


	31. Chapter 31

Yep, that is it. I am killing this fucker.

I can't believe that Siegfried would attack a kid while he is saying his goodbyes for his parents. Can't he have the least decency and wait until after the kid finished?

He was wielding two swords, one from his shoulder and another with his right arm. I also noticed that where should be a stump on his left shoulder now was something that I suspect is a growing arm. I guess his body really is weird, maybe he can regenerate from most damage like me but at a much slower speed in comparison.

I suppose it isn't that much of an impossibility, after all, he IS someone who was mode on a lab to be a superior exorcist for the church so he having superior speed, power, and regeneration speed isn't that impossible.

I guess the church is allowed to play God, huh.

Anyway, this guy was using two swords right now, **Demonic Emperor Sword Gram** and **Phantasmal Greatsword Balmug** , both are legendary and plenty strong. Gram can basically spam an attack equivalent to Arturia's Excalibur from fate/stay night as long as the user can put forth the energy for it while Balmug can control the wind around itself making the user create minor hurricanes around the blade.

BUT, it will be all meaningless in front of my blade. This sword shall be the strongest n the world, growing stronger as I grow and I simply refuse to let some 'legend' try to stand above or equal to it, a feeling of pride and haughtiness that Sora no Bokun agrees wholeheartedly as it is the representation of this aspect of my soul.

" _Rule over the thunderous skies, **Sora no Bokun!**_ " I said as I released the sword form from my sword. I then proceeded to circulate the energy from the Black Heaven and Earth Technique throughout my entire body while my mind started developing a few magics to launch against Siegfried and to protect Leonardo, not that THAT will be much needed considering that Dulio is there and it would be a freezing day in hell before he let anyone hurt a child in front of him.

Peko had advanced toward the other group of people that appeared, there was no hesitation whatsoever in her moves as she cut down men after man using the demonic blade **Nothung** we had obtained from Siegfried earlier (I had given it to her earlier as a birthday gift, I had to give her SOMETHING after all) and she as using it with such finesse that one would think she has been using it for years now.

Taking a small breath I launched myself at Siegfried, I could not use my large scale destruction attacks that I prefer so I have to contain myself to try and hack him into a thousand plus pieces.

I focused as much electricity on the blade as I could without causing damage to the surroundings, my blade was the only thing visible as I am moving as nothing more than a blur to the untrained eye.

In the blink of an eye, I was upon Siegfried, my blade coming from his right side since I want to make sure to occupy Gram as it could be somewhat dangerous for me in case he attacked my side with it.

CLANK

The impact between our blades was enough to be heard dozens of meters away, Gram resisting my Sora no Bokun by using the excessive demonic energy inside it and by having the dragon slayer element that could restrain my blade somewhat. But even so, my physical strength added to the energy from my blade wasn't something anyone could match, just from this impact my sword was already pressing his considerably.

He then proceeded to use Balmug to try and attack me from above, but a defensive magic circle of my own creating sprang forth there just in time to stop him. I then launched multiple magic circles all around him, most of the thunder element since they got a bit stronger in the presence of Sora no Bokun and because thunder could beat wind as it could bypass it better than other elements.

"Tch, damned demon." Siegfried said before three more arms appeared from his back, his balance breaker activating as he took out three more blades and deflected my attacks.

Not that it could be called a good strategy as I took his momentary distraction to use _Hweh_ and disappear from Sigfried's eyes for an instant before I moved to his blind spot and launched a **Soul-Crushing Strike** , one of the techniques from the _Black Heaven and Earth Technique_ that was centered in combining both the internal ki and the physical strength of a punch to cause internal damage on the opponent, right at his back. I could feel the power invading his body and I am pretty sure I badly wounded many of his organs right now and at least a fourth of his intestines are now no more than mush.

He coughed blood as he was launched over thirty meters away, before he swung his demonic blade Dáinsleif to create a pillar of ice in front of himself to stop his momentum.

"Not a demon, a DEVIL with pride!" I said as I already was prepared for that move of his, I don't want to give him any form of chance. Turning my empty hand towards him I invocated my mother's house trait.

" **Shinra Tensei.** " With that I created a gravitational pull between my hand and him, forcing his body to be pulled towards me, or to be more exact at my sword.

"It isn't over yet!" Siegfried said as he slashed with Gram towards me, managing to stop my blade from piercing him.

Not that it would make so much of a difference.

I stopped the complete restraint that I put on my blade, allowing the accumulated electricity to escape. Now, a question. What happens when someone tries to hold a METAL object that is receiving a few millions of volts of charge?

"GGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Ding, ding, ding. Yes, a big ass electric shock.

He survived that, probably because his sword had released some demonic power to cushion the blow for him.

"You, f-f-fucker! Don't think you won yet!" Siegfried said with gritted teeth. It was quite obvious that he was far from his best conditions but it didn't matter to me. I am stronger than him anyway and I will win this, Sora no Bokun is sending me these feelings quite clearly and I think so too.

Siegfried jump back, but his movements are stiff due to the shock he received just now, I decided to not follow him and instead use bombardment to end him as I keep my distance after all a cornered rabbit will still bite and I have no intention of suffering an desperate attack from him.

I then created dozens of magic circles and all of them started releasing a salvo of attacks to try and vaporize him.

Huh, strange. How is it that he still is standing there?

Oh, I see. He has a different sword in his hand now. It is a simple blade with a golden handle and a weird aura to it, at the same time it is holy and practically dripping with evil and poisonous energy. It is taking all the hits from my magic and basically eating them as it simply keeps taking all the energy from this attacks.

I think I recognize that one, at least it seems similar to one I studied some time ago just in case I was to find it but as it was lost for quite some time and it would only appear in CANON DxD much later I wasn't that worried about it. **Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi** , a holy sword that was found inside the evil dragon **Yamata no Orochi** , a blade that despite its holy attribute has a strong toxic tower and could release eight draconic heads capable of releasing fire.

But, I don't remember it having the ability to devour energy. As far as I know from CANON, it should be incapable of this so how is it doing it now? Is this another difference from CANON?

Anyway, this all doesn't matter as I see that my magic attacks are being a little less than useless against this guy. Okay, so I will have to go with plan B, kill him in close combat.

The decision made I dashed towards him, but this time instead of using _Jin_ I took this to the next level by using _Hwan_ , a special walking technique that allows me to move in an unpredictable fashion and creating the illusion on the watcher's eyes that I was in many places at once so as to hinder the enemy to see my actual position. This is by far the hardest walking technique I know, but it is also by far the most effective since it can even disguise my energy and presence signature so no one can tell exactly where I am at any given time.

Siegfried could only watch in shock and try to defend his vital areas at once as he saw me appear in multiple places at once, he probably wants to use this to protect at least his life when I strike and try to launch an explosive counter but this is all useless in front of me.

I am not merciful enough for something like this to work.

As I approached him I stealthily made a small air platform above him using my magic, he was too busy to notice it and, even if he did notice, at least this would help distract him further. But he didn't which was all the more useful for me as I jumped on it while Siegfried was distracted and used the height difference to deliver a powerful overhead strike at him, this time it was even augmented by the electricity from my blade to emulate an actual thunderclap from heaven, the only thing anyone would see or hear was a thunder falling as my blade shined in a similar fashion and the sound was also the same due to the speed at this move.

SLASH

Unfortunately, he managed to avoid death for a hair's breath due to an abnormal movement from **Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi** , it moved by itself and managed to hit my blade with just enough power to deviate the perfect path I was about to create. Instead of Siegfried bee bisected in two equal halves, he now has a deep cut passing from the right shoulder until his pelvis.

And yet, even if he did avoid instant death he still is going to die if this goes any further and he doesn't receive immediate medical care.

He then showed a conflicted but resolute face as he did something I can honestly only see as he took his Ame no Murakumo and threw it at my direction in what I can only assume is a desperate means of taking me down. But the strength behind this strike is too weak for it to hit me, I just took a step to the side and the blade stuck the cold ground.

Is this all? If so, I guess this will be game over.

RRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

... I had to put this red flag, huh?

From the sword handle, a shadowy figure emerged. It's scales gleamed in the sunlight. The scales that were its pride and delight. Its white colored body was shot through them brighter than the sun or so it claimed. The gigantic serpent looked down with its multiple heads, teeth as sharp and cold as icicles they could rip through armor, eerily drooling venom coming from its threatening fangs.

Its tongue flicked in and out as it watched him with beady, golden-like eyes, that strangely enough had a small red circle surrounding it.

But, despite it clearly being powerful I cannot feel even a little bit of life from it, almost as if it was nothing more than a spirit or an apparition given form by the energy from the sword.

I guess I can safely assume I know who this one is, the _Venom Blood Dragon **Yamata no Orochi**_.

How this guy even IS here is completely beyond me, but I know that this is not an enemy that I can take easily. I will need to go a step further here and pray to Satan that this guy exhaust whatever energy that is keeping him here.

Roaring to the skies the dragon opened three of its mouths and launch a wave of extremely potent poison.

SHIT

This can hurt the others, I need to stop this right now!

Taking the deepest breath I have ever taken I started trying to pull for me as much of the poison as possible, the feeling of it was terrifying as I could feel my lungs melting, regenerating, and melting again while I continued this process while creating as many magic circles around me to serve as a barrier to stop the spread of the poison.

I can only hope that by taking the poison inside myself I can lessen the amount going outside as much as possible and that Dulio will manage to do something about it.

After a good thirty seconds after the dragon stopped I simply could not pull any more air. The dragon saw my slightly inflated state as a chance, rushing towards me with a mouth wide open probably thinking about swallowing me whole.

Tough luck.

When he was close enough I let all that air I took it out on the form of a _Cry of the Phoenix_ , stunning the dragon momentarily, and probably managing to rupture the ears of anyone inside this circle I am right now.

Taking advantage of this instant I started activating my full body soul weapon release, the blue scales covering my entire body as a tail appeared on my back. As I waited the 0.5 seconds activation time for this I took a quick look around and saw that currently Peko was engaging Siegfried and having a clear advantage on swordsmanship but still being hard pressed as Siegfried was currently using five swords at the same time.

For me, this isn't that great of an issue since I have other means to attack besides pure swordsmanship but Peko doesn't have any other tricks, and she doesn't need of any as she still was holding her own and pressuring Siegfried little by little.

The dragon finally recovered by the time I finished my transformation, a Cry of The Phoenix normally can stun anyone for at least 3 of 4 seconds but this guy was only stunned by 0,5 seconds. Impressive.

But even so, I will win. I refuse to believe I will lose even if for just a second.

With this resolution I look right at this dragon's eyes, normally people would feel intimidated by this glare of a giant monster but when I compare this guy to what I will have to eventually face, to how I will have to probably face off against Ryzevin someday or how there are so many other evil dragons I will be forced to face, I can only say that this guy fall short.

And I will not be taken down by him!

Sora no Bokun erupted in electricity turning into a sword that looked holy due to the light in it (even if there was not a single shred of holiness in it, the light was just the thunder circulating), and I quickly jump upwards, bringing my sword down for an overhead stab towards the top of its head. However, 2 more heads slammed into my front, sending me flying away from it. Cursing, I looked up to see another head coming at me, its mouth opening to reveal its fangs. However, I raised my sword and brought it down, slamming it into the head and unleashing the Lightning from within. This managed to shock the head into recoiling backward with a pained cry, whilst the other heads converged on me. All at once.

Quickly engaging _hwei_ , I managed to get out of the way, and when I appeared once more I raised Sora no Bokun and unleashed a series of Lightning bolts from the blade. Each bolt succeeded in deflecting 7 heads. The 8th head, however, managed to dodge the bolt in time, and tried to bash me instead.

Keep dreaming you snake bastard!

Looking at the dragon I launched myself at him, avoiding his head that tried to slam at me by twisting my body mid-air and making a large gash on the dragon's neck.

The dragon roared in pain as one of the heads looked at me furiously before opening its mouth as the head shined in a weird green light before multiple snakes were launched from inside the head, there were easily a few thousands of them but that didn't deter me as I kept slashing in all direction to try and stop them all.

However, even so, a few of them managed to bypass my attacks and constrict my body, the muscles of these snakes are extremely elastic and strong managing to restrict my movements despite my best wishes.

Seeing this another head was raised above the others, this one released a white light before releasing a powerful wave of holy energy at me.

HOW? How can an EVIL Dragon use the holy element? And the purity of it is in no way less than the one used by pure angels, how is this even possible?

Snapping out of this thought pattern I created a small air platform beneath my feet before using the power from my sword to disparate to above, my speed that in this form is only great in a straight line proving how even this inefficient skill can still be useful by allowing me to move fast enough as if I was an ascending thunder strike.

The place I was less than 0,1 seconds ago was already a world of holy energy as the bean passed by and destroyed everything in its path. I have no doubt that even I would be seriously hurt by that one and the healing would be slow since my healing is slower when hurt by holy element.

When I got high enough I started calling thunder from the clouds around me by turning my body into something similar to a giant magnet to the electrons in the air. As the thunder started hitting me from all sides I did not feel hurt at all, my sword had the capacity to change natural thunder into magic energy for me to use, not only that but as the thunders kept striking me the snakes that were restraining my movements were burned to ashes.

Now that I am back to full power I look down and see how Yamata no Orochi's mouths are accumulating fire, but this fire is not normal at all as there is a clear purple glint to it. Did he manage to unity fire and poison into the same attack? If so I have to end this fast of who knows how big the damage this little fight may have on the city at large.

Aiming my sword downward I concentrated my powers, luckily from this spot my next attack will hit the ground instead of possibly civilians.

" **BARARAK SAIKA!** " I said as a thunder strike fell to the ground at the same time as Orochi released his fire.

BBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

As the two attacks meet a gigantic explosion happened. I was thrown even further up from the wind alone while Orochi was pressed on the ground due to the attack.

As I readjusted myself I saw that the dragon's body was getting more and more intangible, it is clear that it spent all its energy, but when he looked again at my direction I noticed something. The small red circle surrounding the creature golden eyes disappeared.

 _'Take me away, I don't want to be a slave._ '

What? What is this?

Why did a voice suddenly rang through my mind?

As I look around for the source I finally see what is it that sent me this message, Orochi himself was looking straight at me with eyes that, while still full of pride, showed that he was pleading for help.

An Evil Dragon, a creature known for its extreme haughtiness was ASKING someone something.

This, by itself, was already a miracle.

I guess I should do this, even if only to take the sword and throw it in a safe back home and let it accumulate dust for eternity. At least it is best that sending its spirit to whatever place it will go and then have it come back with full power under Ryzevin.

I saw that the Dragon fully vanished as it re-entered the blade.

Siegfried went to catch the sword back, which is expected since this is a great prize that no one would like to see on an enemy's hands.

I would never et him, through.

Again using my extreme linear acceleration I threw myself at the sword, getting in front of it before Siegfried could.

As soon as I touched (read crashed) the ground I turned to Siegfried, my sword already pointing at him as I glared at him.

"Do you really think this sword is still yours?" I said mockingly. "Even your life isn't yours anymore, you stray, your life is mine for the taking." I said, already launching mysef at him.

However, just as my blade was about to hit a wave of mist sprang from nowhere.

I instantly stopped and jumped back. I know this mist, it is **Dimension Lost** , a high tier Longinus that can control space quite easily.

Tch.

Now it is too late to take this guy out, even if I don't fear him I don't want to get anywhere near this mist as who knows what would happen if this mist takes me to the middle of an enemy encirclement or worse?

Siegfried isn't worth it, as even if I do get out of the encirclement I would lose more than I would win.

"Wash your neck, one of this days I will use my blade to cut it and I don't want it to get dirty for some trash like you." I said to Siegfried, he almost jumping at me then and there out of rage but the mist finished transferring him before he did that.

What a shame, and here I was hoping to provoke him in getting out of his protection.

As the dust settled I went to the **Ame no Murakumo** , I hope it doesn't burn too badly my hand but there is no way I would let anyone else hold it until second order, and my hand would heal from any wound it suffered anyway.

Now, now it is time to go back home.

In the end, I am going home with a holy sword carrying an Evil Dragon's spirit, the demonic sword Nothung, and Leonardo who has a Longinus-class sacred gear (even if no one else knows it yet).

I guess this is a good haul for a one day trip, huh?


	32. Chapter 32

We now were back on Japan, I said my farewells to Dulio, asking him to try and not divulge about the holy sword in my hands since it was possible that the church might try to snatch it away in the name of JUSTICE or something like that, and this sword ultimately belonged to the Shinto Pantheon.

If the Shinto Gods ever found out that this sword is in the possession of the Church it was completely possible for it to turn into a diplomatic disaster.

The best way was to give it back to them and try to use it as a bridge between Christianity and Shinto, but I would first see what I can do about this Evil Dragon inside of the sword as I am not comfortable leaving something like this on the hands of others.

Reluctantly Dulio agreed, and so I now have the sword in my hands as I have just finished my interview about my next game in Akihabara (fun fact, Leonardo's eyes were shining when we got here, I called for Chris and Peko to take him to look around, of course after I casted a translation spell on him to help him communicate and read what was around him).

As I hold Ame no Murakumo I still feel a burning feeling on my hand, but when I compare it to the pain of burning when Vali bathes me on dragon fire or the feeling of the poison of Yamata no Orochi inside my lungs this burning now is more akin to a mild discomfort.

Suddenly I feel a suction force from inside myself, and the world around me changed completely.

* * *

In the middle of a world that looked as unlimited as possible, with grassy plains that seemed endless and a sky that had a chain of extremely dark clouds even as a beautiful full moon shines brightly for all to see, I was looking around trying to identify why exactly I was pulled inside because, as far as I know, neither of those two wanted to talk see me right now.

However, the answer to my question became crystal clear soon enough.

"So, this is how you look like when you are not going crazy?" I asked as I saw Orochi in front of me.

It now was not that giant monster with just ferocity and destruction in its eyes. Now it was more akin to how one of the Dragon Kings act, there is a dignity on his eyes that is unmistakable and the ferocity was replaced by curiosity.

Extreme and very lethal curiosity.

It was the same eyes that Caesar get when he sees some new form of poison or lethal gas, the type that represents a curiosity towards the unknown regardless of the cost.

It was also different as three of its heads are much taller and more developed than the others, almost as if the others are dwarfs in comparison. Every head is a bit different, the five smaller heads can't be differentiated quite that well but the three developed ones are quite clear to see.

One of those had a calm and clear look, its scales had a tint of gold when close to the eyes and mouth. It gave off a calm and peaceful feeling to it despite it being a dragon.

The second one had an appearance of an actual snake (the same look of a Balck Mamba), this one was the most developed of the three and it gave of a sly and dangerous feeling to it.

The third was slightly less developed than the others, this one had a more mysterious feeling to it. The scales were impossible to identify the color correctly when around the eyes or mouth, the eyes were the deepest golden color I have ever seen and there was just something unsettling about that one.

"Yes, and I must say that this place is very peculiar. I normally can only talk to others during dreams, but you are different. This entire world is a soul, your soul, correct?" Orochi said, his voice now much smoother and clearer than before.

There was a strange feeling to him, I don't know why but looking at him here I can feel that he is basically an incomplete soul right now. But not in the same way as in CANON DxD where his soul was cut in half before being sealed in the sword, more like his soul was cut unevenly and ended up this way.

"Yes, this is my soul. I am from the Barbatus clan of devils, we have the most developed souls amongst the devil clans and are naturally able to create this sort of space inside ourselves the moment we are born so as to accommodate our guests." I said.

"Hoh, so you can create this entire world to me?" Orochi said with a smile that is a mix of mocking and interest.

"No, you are at most an intruder here." I said before the sky darkened and the ground bulged as two creatures appeared. "THESE are MY guests."

The first one was a colossal dragon, and by that, I mean colossal in ALL proportions. It looked like one of those oriental dragons, had a span of at least a few dozen kilometers, and had a presence that was impossible to ignore. Its scales shined with a beautiful azure sky glow, there were currents of clouds and chains made of thunder circulating the whole thing and any of its teeth was at least 8 meters tall. This creature was the most powerful being I have ever seen and if it was ever capable of getting out of my inner world I wouldn't be surprised if it was close or already on the Heavenly Dragon, and it was still growing little by little as I grew stronger and older. This is **Sora no Bokun** , the _Sky Tyrant._

From the ground, another creature also surged. It looked like a giant Brute Ratel, one of the wildest and most reckless creatures in the wild (it is a creature with the guts to attack a lion if it invades its territory), but this one had a key difference when compared to the Rates species. It was HUMONGOUSLY HUGE! And I mean it, everything about him was absurdly big, it was like a moving mountain at this point. Every single 'strand of hair' from him was made of stone but was as hard as refined steel, the claws from its hand were of lesser in sharpness than the most powerful sword you could ever find and its presence alone could alter the gravity on its surroundings. This is **Juryoku Oni** , the _Gravity Demon._

Seeing these two Orochi trembled a little bit before calming down.

"I guess taking your body would be impossible then."

"Huh, so you did intend on taking my body." I said, and honestly, I am not surprised.

He is a spirit, if he wants to restart his life he needs a body. The best option would be to obtain a body made with the help of the Sephiroth Grail, but as this was impossible right now having anybody would be acceptable.

He was a ticking time bomb, the wisest option would be to throw give this sword back to the Shinto Pantheon right now and let them take care of this problem but I have a more interesting idea.

But before I can try anything about this I must know a bit more about him.

"Hoh, so you did know I was thinking about this. At least my new user is smart, it already is better than the last one by just that."

"User? I don't think so." I said dismissively, no way I can use a holy sword. No matter how BS this world's rules can be sometimes a pure-blood devil using a holy sword is impossible, and even if I managed to do it the results would be lackluster at best. "But, depending on what you tell me next I may help you in getting a new body for you. One as perfect as possible for your needs."

As I said this Orochi's eyes shinned dangerously with an unmistakable desire.

"And what is your question?"

"It is one question and one information, first I want to know more about you." I said. "When I studied about you I only heard of you as a mindless beast that destroyed everything, but looking at you now I don't buy it."

"MINDLESS! SOMEONE CALLED THIS GENIAL ME MINDLESS!? How dare someone tell these sort of lies about one of the most genius scientist this world has ever seen? How dare them, HOW DARE THEM?!" Orochi said before starting to thrash around in furry, or at least tried to before Juryoku Oni looked at him and the gravity around Orochi increased so much that he fell to the ground completely incapable of moving.

"Useless snake, try to do anything of the sort again and I WILL crush you under my claws." Juryoku said with a snark. He liked to rampage quite a bit but hated anyone doing the same, especially when in his 'territory'. I guess he does have my protective and unreasonable parts.

After this little incident Orochi calmed down, and with a resigned face, he started telling me his history.

He was originally a simple creature that couldn't even be called an actual dragon, just a snake monster with some dragon blood. He was looked down by all dragons despite looking just like one, the dragon kings for him were more of a myth and legends than anything else.

However, he was not someone who would accept to live in the shadows like this, he would never accept this. To reach greater lengths he decided that instead of training like everybody else and depending on who knows how long and a talent that he didn't even know how much he had (he wasn't even a full-fledged dragon after all) that he would study and become a researcher, that he would change himself and learn everything in a unique path that he would develop to be greater than anyone else.

He started studying all sorts of creatures and little by little modified his body and soul to the form he has now, with a power greater than any of the dragon kings as he obtained the skill to take a total of eight different powers for himself, one for each head, and make them his. In this case, a few of them were already basic ones that he could never discard even if he wanted to, the dragon magic and fire magic, but he also took for himself other powers: Poison, familiar creation (thus the snakes), holy magic, demonic magic, Decay magic, and soul magic.

But, even then it was not enough. He wanted to learn more, more and more. To discover everything the world had to offer. But, a problem happened. His body couldn't evolve or be modified any further, no matter how much he tried he simply could not do it as having those his soul divided in eight was already his limit.

And so, he devised a plan to deal with this. He stole a special sword that should have been a gift for Tsukuyomi, the goddess of the moon of the Shinto faction, and used it to make what I could only call a Horcrux from Harry Potter. He planned to use this sword, which could absorb any form of energy or power and store himself inside, to put in there most of the information and a part of his soul, just some fragments, so as to 'open space' for new knowledge and later on he would use the sword to pull back his memories forcibly and integrate all the knowledge and powers into himself. He planned to reach 100 heads or even more, his hunger for knowledge never to be satisfied.

It was a crazy plan that could potentially bring him to his death, but he didn't care. For him, as long as he got more knowledge and learned everything he desired then it was fine.

But, just as he was finishing his transferring of the knowledge of two of his heads, the one connected to Holy Power and the one connected to Familiar Creation, Susanoo appeared. The tempest God was beyond angry due to how the gift he prepared for his sister was taken away by 'just some common snake' and went to look for Orochi to kill him.

Normally Orochi wouldn't fear Susanoo too much as he was not that much weaker than Susanoo anyway, but the problem was that he was already in the middle of the ritual and his powers were dropping as he put too much of his energy into the sword. If it was only that then maybe Orochi could at least escape with his life, but the problem was that the sword in Susanoo's hands was not so forgiving.

Totsuka no Tsurugi, a sword that was wielded by Susanoo and was capable of absorbing any form of energy too. It could be seen as the nemesis for Orochi at that moment since his soul and knowledge were being transformed into energy by the use of his own soul magic for the ritual, so whenever Orochi was hit by the blade he could keenly feel part of himself be taken away by the blade. He refused to let it end like this, so he purred all of his soul and mind into Ame no Murakumo, hoping to one day find someone who could free his spirit and get some well-deserved revenge against the tempestuous god Susanoo.

In the end, he managed to transfer some of his knowledge and soul from all eight heads into the Ame no Murakumo. As for what happened to the rest, he couldn't tell but it was almost certain that those parts were now mindless beasts as the mind magic part (the one who actually controlled the whole body and soul) was almost completely transferred into this sword I now have in my possession.

Now, he could only wait for a chance to find a compatible body for him to possess. He found many users during the years, the Shinto Pantheon losing him centuries ago in some 'accident'. The worse was that he DID find a somewhat compatible body for him to use, asking for his latest user, Siegfried, for help in exchange for his knowledge about many magical techniques and some of his research that he had stashed away just in case. Orochi followed his part of the deal, but Siegfried didn't as he managed to use a ritual into the Orochi's spirit to make him an obedient beast instead of the intelligent being he is.

And now, this Evil Dragon is in my possession waiting for my judgment on how to deal with him.

Listening to everything he had to say, and with Sora no Bokun silent message saying what Orochi said was true since he could discern this sort of thing easily enough, I can say that he truly was dificult to handle.

But, I guess he isn't terribly bad, just a reckless researcher that is fanatical with knowledge. I already deal with one of those myself so dealing with Orochi isn't something entirely new to me.

I guess it is fine then.

"Yamata no Orochi, I now have a question for you. If you agree to it I will give you the best body I can possibly find, if you don't I will give you back to the Shinto Pantheon and let them deal with you." I said, making Orochi glare at me, but he nodded his head in understanding.

Well, here goes nothing.

"Would you be my new pawn?"

"...What?" Orochi said, clear disbelief in his voice. "Do you want ME, an Evil Dragon that is stronger than any of the Dragon kings to be your measly PAWN? To be your servant forever?"

"Yes, and I might be losing out here."

Orochi stayed quiet, his three main heads looking in disbelief for a while before one of them, the snake one, started laughing thunderously. Soon enough even his undeveloped heads started laughing in a similar way, and soon he was entirely laughing like a madman.

"To think that the only way to escape this prison is to go to another prison for eternity, how interesting, how utterly interesting turn of destiny! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He said before continuing to laugh.

After almost an entire minute of laughing, he finally calmed down.

"I accept, but first I too want to ask you a few things." He said, his eyes trained against mine.

"Ask away, but I do not promise to be honest with you." I said, and I mean it. I am honest enough to admit I can be a liar or distort the truth, but that is it.

"Fine, I want to first know if you will stop me on my researches. I still have much to learn and I must admit that seeing you and these different attributes the devils have in their clans caught my interest." Orochi said.

"Sure, I won't stop you from researching at all. If anything I will try to give you more financial and technical support, on the condition that you don't decide to use those who can be called innocent, my friends, or those whose death would be too troublesome to make your experiments. But, if they are to be an enemy you can use them in whatever way you deem fit and I won't intervene. To give you an idea one of my pawns is a scientist that specializes in the productions of poison weapons of mass destruction and he needs many living samples to work with, and I provide as many as he may need." I explained, making Orochi look satisfied.

I guess you could say that he grew up having to sustain himself and do everything alone from the get-go so hearing that I will invest and help him on his pursuit probably pleases him.

"Okay, then my second question. Why do you want me on your peerage? I am sure that you could find those who, while not that better than me, is still easier to deal with." Orochi said in curiosity.

"Because I don't need you to help me on JUST the power department, I also want your capacity to modify living beings. I want you to learn as much as possible and try to help me and my peerage in experiments to remove the weaknesses inherited from the devil race. Being weak to the holy and light element is unacceptable for me as I don't want to have a glaring weakness to myself that every other being with half a neuron will know about. I want myself to be truly unbeatable and my peerage to never have to fear anything, you are a possible means to this end." I explained.

Of course, there is also the fact that I am pretty sure that Ryzevin would go after Orochi eventually if he was to be left in the Shinto Pantheon, and the fact that this is a chance to get this weakness solved early instead of needing to wait until I got to Valerie and wait until her get over her problems and accept practicing with her sacred gear.

That would take too long, and Orochi probably can get the same result sooner.

"Well, then if you do manage to get me a new body I will accept your request to be part of your peerage, master." Orochi said.

Ha, my peerage is only getting stronger and stronger!

Now, there are only two more open vacancies, a bishop and a knight.

I want to fix that, but first I need to talk with Demiurge-sensei and father about what just happened.

I can even imagine they freaking out, but I am sure that they will help me get Orochi a new body.

Now that I think about it, it was once said that only evil deities could have an Evil Dragon as their subbordinates, so will I be known as evil?

Probably.

Does it bother me?

No, not really.


	33. Chapter 33

After that talk with my newest pawn, I decided to go and meet with father in the underworld.

I talked to Peko and the others about it, explaining that it was a business that I had to take care off as soon as possible, before teleporting away. Luckily Leonardo did not seem to care all that much, he was full of many new things he just bought with my cash(I have more than I could use for myself so I don't mind my peerage using my account), it probably is the first time in who knows how long that Leonardo can enjoy something like that he probably will spend all his energy running around with a smile on his face. As long as he is happy everything is fine with me, he is a peerage (temp) member now and as such he deserves only the best.

As I stepped into my home I saw that everything was the same as before, the beautiful gardens, maids working tirelessly but with dignity and a smile, the fake sun in the sky illuminating everything with a gentle light that didn't bother any devil. Even the air here is purer and the place more fit for training.

I had a smile on my face as I saw this, this was the place I would one day rule over and this is where I will one day guard the underworld against all external threats.

Home.

"Oh, Joseph-sama, I didn't know you were coming." Chisa said as she came out of a room inside the mansion.

I walked to her, and saw that she was doing alright. She didn't change at all since I first saw her, but now that I am stronger I can clearly sense her power.

She is already close to Satan-class.

Now that I think about it most of the peerage members from my father and mother's peerages are all close or already on Satan-class.

I guess that living in a place where fighting is so common and inevitable really helps stimulate people to grow stronger. That must be why my family probably has the highest level of fighters among the devil houses, the only ones who can match us are the Gremory Clan, due to Syrzechs, and the Belial clan as Diehauser's peerage is quite strong and they too live somewhat close to the borders, but in a safer distance than my house so they use the other races more as a sharpening stone to train instead of an actual constant enemy.

But I still think my house is the best of all, if for nothing else because I want to think like this.

"Chisa-sensei, it is so nice seeing you again."

"Yeah, you barely come home since you started getting all busy in the human world. You just come when you have something to ask or when there is an invasion, you should come home more." She said, chastising me.

I could only scratch my head at this, it is the truth after all.

It is irresponsible, but it shouldn't be that much of a problem since I completed all the studies necessary to take over as the head of the family whenever my father decided to step down and I do return to help deal with any problem that arises, eliminating any possible threat to the clan.

Sighing when seeing my reaction Chisa said.

"You really can't sit tight in here, huh? Fine, I will take you to your father, you probably are looking for him anyway."

"Thanks, Chisa-sensei." I said with a bright smile, which made her give a small smile. She likes being called a sensei after all.

When I entered dad's study I saw that he was having a conversation with an older blond man.

This man was wearing extravagant but classy clothes and had a happy smile as he and father were chatting.

He was Lord Phenex, my future father in law.

"Sorry to interrupt." I said as I entered the room. "Lord Phenex, it has been far too long."

"I agree, you should show up more at my place. I am sure my dear little bird would be happy to see you." Lord Phenex said with a smile.

"Oh, son, I hope everything is fine, you normally only show up when there is something important you need. Me and this old bird here were just talking about some important matters regarding you so you came at just the right time." Father said, with lord Phenex nodding his head.

"Hoh, I also have some important matters to discuss, but those would be highly personal so I suppose it can wait until only the two of us are here dad." I said, mostly thinking out loud than anything else.

"Nonsense!" Lord Phenex said, his voice very loud and straightforward. "We will be family soon enough, there is no need to hide secrets from me like this. I will be your father-in-law after all! Hahahaha!"

Lord Phenex really is way too different to Raiser, while the father is someone honorable, manly, easy to get along with, and with a strong sense of justice and duty his son is... well he is what was left I suppose.

I looked at father who was nodding his head. He was close friends with Lord Phenex so he trusts him immensely.

I guess it should be fine, in the end, what I am about to do is sure to be news across the whole underworld soon enough anyway so hiding it away would be useless in the end anyway.

"Well, I just wanted to inform you that I got two more peerage members." I said.

"Hum, and who are those two?" Father asked.

"First is a young boy named Leonardo. He is under a provisional position in my peerage but I think he will enter it soon enough, he has a powerful sacred gear which I believe may be either an Avatar type or a Longinus considering how strong I felt it is."

"Impressive, you really are your old man's son, finding such interesting people to your peerage one after the other and adding them so easily." Lord Phenex said. "It is a far cry from my own boy, that one only adds members based on wanting to make them his harem instead of how powerful or how much potential they have, I swear that some of those must be weaker than the gardeners back in my mansion!"

"Which isn't so hard since you did buy the best gardeners the money could get." Father added, making Lord Phenex cough a bit to disguise his embarrassment.

"Anyway, the problem is the second one." I said.

"Why is that? Is he a fallen?" My father narrowed his eyes as he said that, he had a deep-seated grudge against the fallen angels after all. He once told me that I could add anyone to my peerage as long as it isn't a fallen angel, he hated them to the bone.

"No, nothing like that." I said quickly, if I let father get on too dark of a mood he might disapprove even MORE about my next few words. "It is a spirit, as in the literal spirit of someone that died some time ago. I need help from Demiurge and the lab staff to work on a new body for him to possess."

That made father curious. It was rare to even hear of a spirit managing to stay in this world after death, much less hear about one that was turned into a devil, but it is a first for everything here.

"Ok, I get what you want son, but who is this mysterious individual you added?"

"Yamata no Orochi."

""WHAT?!"" Both father and Lord Phenex stood up when they heard this.

Looking at the disbelief in their faces I had to try hard not to snicker, if these two that know me well are reacting this shocked I cannot imagine how those who have only heard rumors will react. Especially when they hear that Leonardo possesses the Annihilation Maker, a Longinus that could potentially destroy the world.

I almost feel like a cartoon supervillain that is one step away from world domination or something like that.

"Wait a second, HOW did you manage to even find his spirit? Shouldn't it be dead? And why did he agreed to serve you?" Father asked with Lord Phenex looking at me with equal curiosity.

"He agreed to serve me when I promised him a new body; He managed to separate a piece of his soul and this piece is the one I will be making my newest pawn; I found his spirit after I had a fight with a stray exorcist that was carrying bunch of legendary swords, amongst them were _Nothung_ , which I managed to get and give to Peko, and the sword he put his spirit in, this one." I said without missing a beat as I presented them Ame no Murakumo.

"...A holy sword? An Evil Dragon is locked inside a holy sword that a devil carried to his home? That sounds like a bad pun to me." Lord Phenex said, this time my father sweatdropped while nodding his head.

And now that he said it I realize how supposedly illogical any of these things should be, but it happened anyway.

"Joseph, we will talk more about it later but if you really are certain of your choice and believe that you can tame this creature I will not stop you. But be warned that if he is to try anything against you or this territory I will personally execute him, and this time he can forget about leaving a part of himself to survive." Father said as he put his hand on his sword, and I am not ashamed to say I trembled when I saw him do that.

Father is a true monster when it comes to battle, he might be said to be inferior to Syrzechs, Ryzevin, and Ajuka, as most say he is only at the level of the previous four satans at the very very most, but I call BS. I honestly cannot believe any of that, and I think that if dad was to ever go all out against Syrzechs he will be just as strong or stronger than Syrzechs using True Form. Call it a child's belief in his own father to be the strongest or whatever, but I still think he is the strongest there is.

"*cough* Anyway," Lord Phenex coughed in his hand so as to call back the attention to himself. "I think it is good that you are finding strong peerage members, and this one is probably the strongest as of now, but you ought to be careful. An Evil Dragon is never someone that can be easily trusted, so be sure to protect Ravel when the time comes."

"If I can even be with her that is." I said under my breath, but both of them heard me.

"And why is that? Are you dissatisfied in marrying my baby girl?" Lord Phenex's eyes narrowed dangerously, even if I don't particularly fear him. He is more of a rich merchant than a fighter after all, most of his family is more of a noble or merchant than fighters the only exceptions are Ruval who is a strong warrior through and through and Raiser who is a waste of space through and through.

"No, nothing like that I assure you. I like Ravel very much and I think she is a lovely lady that could make anyone lucky enough to be with her happy for thousands of years." I said, making him calm down quite a bit. "It is just that my relationship with her brother is less than ideal and as he is her master he could try to intervene and damp any relationship between me and her."

"Nonsense, my son is not such type of men that would do that." Lord Phenex said, making me realize that he must be completely and utterly blind to how his son is in general when it comes down to me. "Maybe you and he could try and get along a bit more, be friends."

Wow, I almost puked in my mouth by just thinking about that. Me and Raiser? Friends? It would be easier for Serafal to ban all Mahou Shoujo related materials from the underworld and say no to al demonstrations of care from Sona.

"And you will have a chance for that soon enough." Lord Phenex said. "My son is going to your school tomorrow to see his fiancee to try and speed up the marriage process, so why not do it for you and Ravel too? It will be a truly festive occasion if this happens."

So it has come.

The second 'arc' of this year, the Phenex wedding arc.

I need to go see Rias as soon as possible, she probably is receiving the message now as well.

I need to help her, but first I should think.

What is the best way to get what I want out of this?

As part of my mind started making plan after plan I continued a pleasant conversation with Lord Phenex and father. I am so happy that one of my 'powers' that I received from the system the day I was born was the _thought partitioning_ , it is truly a cheat-like help on so many occasions.

After I finished talking with them I gave them both a polite farewell as I teleported to the lab. There I talked to some of our scientists that specializes in bioengineering about what I wanted, and quickly enough they agreed to help.

As this ended I could finally sigh in relief as they took away Ame no Murakumo to look into the spirit and try to develop a body fit for him.

But an interesting fact about this is that Orochi requested for a body more similar to a humanoid snake/dragon as this form would be more practical for him to make researches in the future, it was odly pale and the eyes were a bit pulled to the sides making him have a mean spirited look at all times.

Strangely enough, I think I might have recruited Orochimaru from Naruto here, but even stranger is that I don't have that much of a problem with it as I should. I look at the potential in him, and a potential that already is big enough to be useful quickly as the time is coming and I cannot afford a single mistake when dealing with these future missions that are coming, I cannot afford to fail a single one or I will die.

* * *

After all that I left Orochi with the scientists as to better see the creation of the new body for Orochi, but I made it a point that even if the body is completed they must inform me immediately and wait until I go there to see the process and give Orochi his new life, I even secretly asked them to make the body die in a matter of minutes after receiving a soul unless it is turned into a reincarnated devil, just to make sure he won't try to play any tricks on me.

We still don't know each other that well and I prefer to keep as many chips on my side of the field.

Anyway, tomorrow is a new day and I already have a plan for what to do. But first and foremost.

DING DONG

"Joseph, it is so good that you are here!" Rias said as she hugged me as soon as she opened her door.

"I came as soon as I heard, he is coming again." I said, while she nodded while still pressing her head against my chest.

I could feel her body tremble a bit at my words making me sure that she also understood the situation.

She was a pile of nerves just by knowing what is going to happen tomorrow, knowing her like I know I can understand why she would actually go and ask Issei to take away her first time just to get out of this marriage even if she didn't love him like that by that point in CANON. But now, now things are different for her.

I will help her, and she won't have to be afraid of her future at all.

"Rias, listen." I said, making her look up to me, her crystal blue eyes almost sucking away my soul due to how beautiful they are right now. "You have nothing to worry about, just challenge him to the rating game. I know he will accept, and if worse come to pass and you loose you can be damn sure that you will not be forced into this marriage because I will go and fight him myself. Even if he demands to have his entire peerage against me alone, I will still fight him for you."

As I said that she relaxed a bit, but quickly enough her fear was turned into a bright flame as she said.

"No, you won't have a chance to fight this one Joseph. I will win this game by myself and show everyone that I can do it! I am Rias Gremory and I will one day be the number one in the rating game!" She proclaimed, her old courage and confidence that has been failing her since she heard of Raiser's capacity on the demonstration rating games he participated.

Honestly speaking, despite it being supposedly just to be shown for a small circle of people instead of for everyone out there I still managed to buy a copy of the game, it wasn't even that hard as I just had to look well enough with some of the more 'dubious' personal that manage the games and pay some extra for them thus allowing me to see his games, and they were weak.

I mean, pathetically weak. Both peerages were all too basic and there were no highlights for either Raiser or his opponents' teams, the only ones of interest to me were Ravel who could manage everything on the battlefield with a mastery that even I don't know if I could do any better and Raiser's queen. And no the queen isn't Yubelluna as she is a bishop in this world (not that I care about what happened with his CANON bishop, he was at most an extra filler character). His Queen in this world is a girl called Miu Iruma, a crazy chick that is the possessor of **Unknown Dictator** , a sacred gear that can control iron, electronic devices, and mechanical equipment and she uses these amply to create an amazing number of robots to fight for her. She especially created a robot called K1-B0 that is quite strong when fully equipped, enough that even I or Vali would have to take it somewhat seriously, definetly stronger than Rizer, which isn't that particularly dificult in my opinion.

"Rias, I believe you can do this but at least let me and my peerage help yours train. And before you try to deny my help, remember that my peerage and I can and want to help you, so please let us."

"Okay, but only because you are cute." She said playfully before giving me a peck in the lips.


	34. Chapter 34

I ended up spending the night in Rias' place. She needed as much support as possible even if she didn't want to admit at all. She may not seem much but sometimes she acts like a tsundere in the most stupid things.

As the night went on we talked a bit about everything, about the new members to our peerages (I just revealed Leonardo as I want to see how Rias and the others will react to Orochi) and agreed about where to practice for the rating game that will come.

I managed to convince her to make it on the Underworld, near my family's territory in the borders where there are constant invasions so as to let she and her peerage some actual live combat as to give them the better experience of combat as possible. We also agreed to let most of the peerages go there as we teach the newbies, which, surprisingly enough, are actually five different people (Issei, Asia, Kirika, Shirabe, and Leonardo), everything they need to know before actual combat.

I can only hope everything will work out, but at least I think the more seniors will be able to get better with this. Live combat with your life in the line is by far the fastest way to get stronger, just look at how during one year with many near death encounters in CANON Issei got from pathetically weak to one of the strongest individuals out there (that and his cheat-like Longinus and protagonist BS power-ups of course).

Now it is time to go to school, the way there was quiet and peaceful. Neither of us spoke much, but I think at least she is better now than she was before, she now is looking forward with just as much confidence as she usually had. But, every once in a while she took a look at me before smiling even more.

The classes were quite boring, but a surprising thing was how Issei started getting along with both Mikan and Asia quite easily. The three looked like a trio of friends hanging out, which was sweet to see, but I also noticed how Sakura-san looked from afar to make sure nothing bad happens to her friend Mikan and Kaito was glaring at Issei quite a bit whenever the young pervert looked lecherously at Mikan (who was way to defenseless to be fair).

Anyway, everything was fine. I spent some time in piece, Maria's music in a headphone as I enjoyed everything.

After class we waited for Raiser's arrival. I was enjoying the tea made by Solution as this time I asked her and Lo'lo to be here, her because I like her tea and him because he likes to scare Raiser quite a bit (I still remember how Raiser almost pissed in his pants when Lo'lo came up close to his face quietly and snarled at him).

Well, Phillufy is also here as she wanted to eat some of the sweets that were prepared for this occasion. She was sitting beside Koneko as both are enjoying an eating contest where the prize is a full belly.

Overall the mood in the room wasn't that bad, I was talking to Rias, Issei was talking to Asia and Akeno, Lo'lo was hanging out with Gonta, and Koneko was competing with Phillufy for the title of the biggest glutton (Kiba was in the corner trying to act normal, but I bet he is only thinking about revenge, revenge, and more revenge… he needs a hobby).

So, of course, the mood had to be ruined as a pillar of flames shot from the center of the room.

"Rias, my beloved wife, I have missed you so much." Riser said in his obnoxious and irritating flamboyant way.

"And just like that, the air smells like a chicken farm. Solution dear could you open a window big enough to remove the stink?" I said, making Raiser's smug face crumple a bit.

"Joseph-sama, I am sorry but I don't think it is possible to ventilate the place enough to remove the smell. For it to be enough I suppose we would need to break all walls at the very least." Solution answered in all seriousness, thus making Raiser feel even more embarrassed. He turned his irritated face to Solution, probably planning to say something, before noticing how she was wearing her maid outfit.

I have to hold myself back to not try to punch him in the face as he started almost devouring Solution with his eyes. I understand that she is of a much higher level than anyone in his peerage in sexiness and seduction, but to be looking at a girl like a piece of meat as he is right now is unacceptable.

He then turned to me and saw how I was sitting close to Rias, his displeasure returned instantly (or I think so, it is hard to see the difference in pieces of feces after all) and he marched right at the sofa me and Rias were sharing before trying to show off by using his wind control to push me away from her.

I had to hide my smirk as I simply created a counter magic circle to negate his ability.

Seeing his pathetic failure, but pretending to be ignorant of this (which isn't too hard for him) he decided to 'grace us' with his voice. Please note the sarcasm right there.

"Half-breed, get away from your superiors path." He said.

"Sure, as soon as I see someone that is superior I will. Right now I am only seeing something that I would feel sorry if he was in a trash bin, sorry for the trash bin of course." I answered at his tentative to depreciate me for my human heritage.

"Humph. I suppose you might be too stupid to understand the worlds of those above you but I am ordering you as a pure blooded devil to get away from my wife." He said.

"Sorry, but could you repeat? I only heard 'Hit me, please please hit me for being too stupid'." I said, releasing some of my magic power to pressure him. Not everything, far from it actually, but just enough to make him think it is and believe he could triumph against me if we were to come to blows.

Just as we were about to start fighting (which is as natural of a reaction for the two of us as fire and gasoline exploding) a new magic circle showed up and from it a beautiful mature woman came out wearing a french maid outfit.

Grafia Lucifuge, the wife of Syrzechs Lucifer and the strongest Queen (a title that one day shall belong to Maria, I am certain of it!).

"That should be enough, both of you. This is an important meeting between the Gremory and Phenex families and the arguments between you two are ruining it." Graifia said stoically.

The two of us backed down from the situation, but the glares we were giving one another was enough to kill lesser people (I am just surprised Raiser isn't dead yet).

"Now, Joseph-sama, would you allow for Raiser to sit beside his fiancee? It isn't really appropriate for you to try and stop him considering the position both of you are." Graifia said, mentioning how I am to be married to Raiser's sister.

Sighing a bit I stood up and allowed him to sit where I was, but left a tiny magic circle on that spot where I was sitting. Raiser condescendingly looked at me as if I was an idiot for getting in his way before sitting down where I was.

BZZZT

A thundershock ran through him when he sat down making him yelp in pain. It wasn't much and I know that Graifia noticed it but choose not to say anything as she too isn't pleased with Raiser.

Raiser recomposed himself as he turned to Rias and unceremoniously and without carrying for the people that were watching put his right hand on her tighs, feeling her up as he started saying sweet nothings to her, as in everything he said meant a bit less than nothing really.

Rias said nothing but maintained a stoic face as Raiser continued to touch her tighs with his hands, smelling her hair as he complimented her by comparing her to some girl he slept with (probably on some brothel as, otherwise, I don't see how any girl would sleep with him) and all the while moving his hands ever so slightly up towards her intimate parts.

Everyone was seeing this and had varied levels of disgust in their eyes. Issei was the most obvious one as he had his hands clenched and his teath were griting against each other.

I? I was smiling the whole time. Showing how much I was capable of remain calm regardless of the situation by not drawing my sword then and there to cut him into a thousand plus pieces.

BOOOM

Instead, I blew his chest with a thunderbolt.

I am the face of peacefulness, ain't I?

After he recovered from the damage he turned to me, his eyes blazing as he pointed his finger at me.

"The hell is wrong with you? Why did you suddenly attack me out of nowhere?"

"Sorry, I mixed you with a regular molester that should be put down with prejudice, I guess I was sort of wrong. After all, there is no way a KFC reject like you could have the mental facilities to even do that properly." I said, egging him to challenge me and venting out some frustration I had for needing to see his face for more than half a second.

"You!" Raiser said furiously as the others around looked more than a bit happy from my action. "Why are you even here? You have no right to interfere with me and Rias' love moment!"

"First, I am here because I was INVITED by YOUR father to come and see Ravel as I do want to see her. And second, love? Really? Are you sure that what you are feeling isn't the same you feel whenever you want to bang some loose and cheap whore... sorry I didn't mean to offend your peerage members by remembering the truth." I said.

"Do you want to die?" Raiser said, thankfully standing up and letting go of Rias' tighs. A small but meaningful success in my opinion.

"I would rather not die, but then again you wouldn't be able enough anyway."

"As if! I just don't kill you right here and now for your insolency because I am above that." He says, trying to act tough as the temperature of the room elevated. "It would be beneath me fealing with some insignificant worm that has filthy blood on his veins."

I think my smile must be so wonderful right now. And, is it just me or is even my peerage members taking a step back?

"I wonder, how does it feel?" I said.

"What? To be a truly superior breed that was born for success? Feels great, especially when I see some stupid mongrels that believe themselves as above the primates they ultimately are but continue acting just as stupid. A stark contrast to me and my glorious bloodline that every female would be happy to have a descendant too, just like my dear Rias here will soon enough." Riser said, managing to make Rias almost vomit in her mouth when she heard those words.

"I wasn't asking that. I meant, how does it feel to face death in the eyes and be too much of a daft cunt to realize it." I said, my patience was being tested beyond belief by me not putting my arm inside his guts, removing his intestines, and forcing him to eat it over and over again. A VERY appealing image right now. "Not only did you continuously kept me from even seeing Ravel as she always just so happened to be out doing some important business for you whenever I went to see her, which considering that if it is you is probably taking some of your blood to test to verify if you managed to obtain every single DST in existence which I bet you must have found some new ones already, but you also come here to the town I live in and offends not me but my mother and grandmother! You either apologie right now or I WILL kill you."

"As if you could! I am a Phenex, I am invincible and immortal! Nothing you will ever do will manage to even hurt me for real, no one can defeat me, NO ONE! Especially some weak monkey like you." Riser said, his hands already on fire as he was seemed just about to attack.

"That should be enough!" Graifia said as she released her own powers. Most people in the room felt uncomfortable or had difficulty to breathe, but I was not one of them. In the end, I was used to my father and mother's energy levels and neither really lose out against Graifia on this. Even though I don't stand a single chance of defeating her I am not afraid of her either, I will one day be stronger than her. This self-confidence of mine is something that will not be shaken no matter what.

As Graifia saw how everyone reacted to her actions she receded her powers, giving me a slight smile as if she was happy that I was not afraid of her power.

Is it possible that she already knows of me and Rias and is happy that I am not someone weak minded? Possible. Will it matter right now? I am not certain.

"I am here to know if both Rias-sama and Raiser-sama already agree to the marriage contract." Graifia said.

"Yes." Raiser said.

"No, no it is not agreed." Rias said as she too stood up. "Riser, I already told you the last hundred times, I will NEVER marry you."

"But, my dear Rias, I thought your family was with its back against the wall here so you are in no position to be selfish. Your family is in debt for quite some time and it is MY family that helped them in their moment of need, this marriage was to make us pardon the debt and unite our families further." Riser said.

Well, I think I must step forward now. After all, this next part is a delicate business that I know Rias cannot handle right now.

"If it is for that you have no reason to worry, as a representative of house Barbatus I will help finance Rias' family so as to pay back all the interest with the Phenex clan. I will not let you treat Rias as some hooker you can pay to sleep with." I said decisively.

I know that the amount the Gremory clan would need to pay isn't something cheap, but considering the situation the best option is for me to shelter the debt right now. I have some cash in my own account right now and I know for a fact that some of the tribes that like to attack my family's territory have quite a few treasures with them. It will be risky, but with some preparations, I might be able to attack them where they live and loot them of everything valuable.

This ought to be enough to pay back the debt of the Gremory clan.

"Even so, this is also for the prosperity of the devil race. My marriage with Rias will ensure the birth of more pure-blooded devils, which is becoming more an more necessary as the population of reincarnated devils and half-breeds, such as your dirty and useless and pathetic self, keep rising." Raiser said, believing his argument to be rock solid.

"Please, you just want to have your way with Rias. If you cared so much about keeping the blood purity of the devil race you wouldn't have brought so many girls from other species into your peerage and had sex with them so much. You are just looking for excuses, that is all. But then again you are more of an excuse of a man than anything so it makes sense I suppose" I said, making Rias nod her head on the side.

"THAT IS IT! You are going down!" Riser said, finally snapping and trying to attack me.

The key word is 'trying'.

Before he could touch me Graifia was already in front of me with an outstretched hand catching all the flames Raiser launched and nonchalantly crunching it away.

"You both must stop this infantile fight now. It is unbecoming of both of you to act in such manner." She said, but as I look into Raiser's eyes I see that he still wants to go.

Good.

"Graifia-sama, I understand your opinion on it and you do have a duty to uphold, but I have a proposition that might solve the problems of everyone." I said, making everyone look into my direction. "How about we go at this game in a special format, a two VS two game. Me and Rias VS Riser and some frien... sorry, I sometimes forget that he probably doesn't have a single friend that isn't a drug addict or he pays for the night, so, someone who is willing to work with him for money should work. I believe this should help settle the score between me and Riser while also allowing him and Rias to decide how to handle the marriage contract."

Before Graifia could try and say no, to deny this abrupt proposition that I made, Raiser already opened his mouth.

"I accept," Isn't it nice when plans work out? Just need to make your opponent to pissed out to make any proper decision and then he will jump right into your hands as a moth to the flame. "I shall show you the power of the Phenex together with my peerage." And with that, another magic circle appeared behind him as a new pillar of flames and from it Raiser's peerage showed up.

HUG

"Joseph-sama, I missed you!"

And I was tackled by Ravel Phenex, another girl I loved even if we didn't spend nearly as much time together as I wished.

"Me too, my beautiful bird. Me too."

With luck, I can even manage some extra benefits from this game. I think Raiser has been in the way between me and Ravel for too long and this just might help me change that.


	35. Chapter 35

After the talk with the piece of chicken shit, that also answers by the name of Riser, I informed my peerage members about what was decided. I told them to prepare for a two weeks long training marathon (he agreed to give us two weeks to 'prepare ourselves to face his greatness', but I am pretty sure itis because a convention of porn stars will happen in Vegas in 10 days and he doesn't want to miss the 4 days event), which most were less than excited about.

And now I'm on a date with Ravel, we are going to watch a new romantic movie I heard was quite good as she does like these sort of stories so much. Especially when it is about knights and princesses, she used to tell me all about the stories she heard as I was the only boy she knew who even listened and took her seriously. She liked in special one of my books that I dedicated for her, it was one dream she once told me about and I modified it to work as a book. To say she loved the work was an understatement. Now that I think about it, this movie is a free interpretation of said book so I am sure she will like it even more.

As I look at her I can only admit that she is a beauty. Her face is delicate but have a certain something of fierceness to it that makes you don't want to look away, her eyes are such a wonderful tone of blue that they just might be even more beautiful than my own (and this body was literally made to be perfect in every way), she carries herself with a certain pose that is mesmerizing and, while not as bombastic as most of my harem members, her body is developing nicely.

I am one lucky guy to have someone like her by my side, if only she didn't come with that brother attached she would be perfect. Well, not that I can't deal somewhat with this over attachment that annoys me to no end.

As we are now waiting for the movie to start we started talking.

"Joseph-sama, I have missed these sort of things with you. I was thinking you have lost interest in me." Ravel said.

"Nonsense, purge this sort of idea right now." I said. "You should know it isn't like that at all, haven't you been receiving my letters?"

"Letters? What letters? I haven't received even a single one for the last 2 whole months!" She said raising her voice, before flushing and saying. "Sorry for raising my voice, it is just that I have been sending you letters every few days and you haven't answered any of them."

"No problem, but I did send you letters. I know you prefer to talk with me this way so I did send you letters, but there was no answer. I even tried to visit to see if everything is ok with you, but you were always so busy that I never managed to talk to you at all." I said, partly because it is true and part to see how she would answer. But, that she was sending me letters too and even then we're being intercepted I don't know what the fuck is going on in that suicidal chicken's head, but he must truly be looking forward to a beatdown that will make the one he received in CANOB look like a walk in the park by comparison.

"Weird, I am sure I asked Isabela to deliver the letters to you in person and she said you were uninterested in even looking at them. And, these last few months have been quite peaceful as onii-sama hasn't had any important matter that I had to adjust as his secretary."

I REALLY want to try and unmask Riser's pathetic attempt of a plot against me, oh I want to so much, but I better not. Ravel love her brother too much and she already is suspicious of me, if I act now it is quite possible that she won't believe it and might even react negatively towards me.

Normally it wouldn't be that much of a problem, but she will be my wife in the future so I should avoid making her sad or displeased with me as much as possible. Besides, if what I have planned work then things will roll much smoother than if I tried to antagonize her now.

"Say, Ravel-chan, have you ever thought about what would happen in our future?" I said, changing the subject.

"Hum, besides the fact that I will be Miss Barbatus and helping you, I don't really have many other plans in place." Ravel said with a finger on he chin.

"But, wouldn't it be hard with how things are now? Dividing your time between your obligations as Lady Barbatus and be a bishop to your brother would not work. Then, how about you enter my peerage instead? I would be much happier this way as I would be able to be sure that you are safe and sound while also allowing you to be able to make use of your talent to the fullest." I said, crossing my fingers inside my head to hear a positive answer.

"I don't know, my Onii-sama needs me so much. He said this to me so many times before, abandoning him would not be right." Yeah right, he probably only want to stop this and to have someone to manage his visits to whorehouses. "And Onii-sama is strong, he can definitely protect me."

"I am not so sure." I said, trying not to laugh at the stupidity she just said. Riser is strong? How? He only spends his time fucking around and never bothered training since he was a kid; the only reason he isn't even lower on my threat list is that his regeneration is a pain in the ass, but even then he still wouldn't be able to hurt me at all. Letting someone like that protect Ravel now that things will get so much more dangerous? No way in hell I will let that happen. Just look at CANON, as soon as someone important aimed at Ravel she was captured despite he being right there, I don't give a fuck who it was that was trying to kidnap her, he failed then and he will fail again in this life if I leave it be! No fucking way I will let her be 'protected' by him. "I think I and my peerage are much more capable of doing it, at least this way my heart would be that much more peaceful and I know that your talents in management would be much more useful on my peerage instead of his."

"Oh, but my brother is the strongest! Since small, he has always been invincible except for the time he fought you. But since then he has grown much stronger, I am sure he is the strongest." Ravel said.

What can I say, she loves her brother even if he is a shitstain of a devil.

"But, dear, I still am not reconciled with this. How about this, during this next rating game if my peerage and Rias' wins you will come and be my bishop. If we lose" try not to laugh, try very hard not to laugh Joseph. "then I won't say anything else about you continuing being your brother's bishop until we get officially married. This is the best I can do."

She looks torn about it, so I think it is best to give her a lifeboat.

"Don't worry so much. Even if you come to my peerage it is not like I will separate you from your family, I know how you love them and I like that from you. Just, promise me to think about this idea of mine. Please." I said looking straight into her eyes.

She flushed immensely and turned her head before speaking again.

"Humph, I-I will think about it, but only because you pointed out some good points. It is not because I want to spend more time with you going on dates or anything. I am only here b-because it is my duty as your fiancee to spend more time with you, it is not like I l-l-like you or anything!"

Such a tsundere, it makes me want to tease her so much.

"Hay, hay, I understand." I said. "You don't want to be with me at all, you would rather be away from me instead. You don't even want to go on dates with me, even though I was thinking about inviting you to go to a resort for a weekend getaway in a paradisiac spot. I guess you really only is here with me for obligation."

To say she turned her face in my direction quickly would be an understatement. I fear that if she wasn't a Phenex she could have snapped her neck just now.

"I- but- then- ... AAHH, you are doing this on purpose!" She said, glaring at me with small tears of frustration in her eyes.

I only laughed a bit before kissing her. She managed to get even more flustered as the movie was starting.

Overall, I managed to get her to agree to this little 'bet'. Well, 'bet' is a strong word as there would be a need for there to be a chance of losing this.

* * *

At night I said my goodbyes to Ravel. After the movie, we went for some ice cream and later we just walked on a park and watched the birds together. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but now was no longer the time to think about this.

I must prepare to this rating game.

This will be my very first game, and while I am certain I will ultimately win I want to make it an ideal victory. One where I show my power and make others fear me for it, but most importantly to bring more attention to myself.

I already know that the Chaos Brigade exists as of right now, some of the spies from my family managed to ascertain the connection between the Chaos Brigade and a few of the Old Satan faction members. The problem is that my spies are still incapable of infiltrating them, and I want as much inside information from them as possible.

Their plans of attack, members, the location of reunion, supplies, everything and anything. If I am to survive this year I must make sure of everything and for that, I need more inside information.

Thus, I will try to join them.

Not for real, of course. I will abandon them as soon as I have the intel and I will do nothing that could put my territory or the devil's race in jeopardize, but it still is something that could be the difference between no victims and hundreds of victims amongst the innocent.

It is worth it.

And so, I must make this game something that will make others think of me when they think about power. And the debt of the Gremory family can also work as a benefit for me as I can use this chance to showcase my power even further and to have a practical excuse for Rias to be bethroned to me after Riser's ultimate defeat. We can say that the Gremory family is indebted to us, but despite my family don't pressing it the Gremory clan proposes the marriage alliance and my family will 'reluctantly' accept.

It is a solid plan that was put in motion as soon as Riser accepted the game.

Anyway, for now, I must go see Rias. We have two weeks and we should use every second of it if we are to make the biggest impact.

KNOCK KNOCK

"Joseph," Rias said as she opened the door to her apartment. "w-what happened in there? Why did you change the plans out of nowhere like that?" She asks looking hurt at me.

Oh, I get it. She was thinking of tackling this alone, she probably wanted to prove her strength and seeing me one-sidedly take her original plans and changing it as I saw fit probably hurt her pride.

"Rias, please understand my side of this too." I said. "I know better than anyone how much you are working to show your worth, I know that you worked hard to get strong and that you wanted to do this by yourself as much as possible. But, you must understand that I don't want to see you hurt in any way. I have some plans that involve this fight, plans I cannot tell you right now, but I hope you understand that part of the reason as to why I did this was to make sure that Riser won't even have the chance of hurting you. He is a formidable opponent to you, one that you can probably defeat but is possible to lose as well. If there wasn't so much riding in this game, I would never interfere as I trust you, but if there is even a 1% chance of the unexpected happening I would never forgive myself if I allowed it."

She looks at my face for a while before sighing.

"I can't even tell if you are being honest or not." She said tiredly. Well, there isn't much I can do about it. I am someone who trained to be a great liar, it is already ingrained in my bones and unless something really ticks me off to the extreme it is hard for others to tell when I am honest and when I am not.

"I know, I make it hard for you sometimes. Just, please understand that I only want the best for you, Rias."

She looks down before inviting me in.

After we entered deeper into the house I saw that Akeno and Kiba were also here, they probably are trying to plan out the training they will be doing for this time.

Nodding to them I moved to sit, I decided to show off a bit by focussing some of my demonic power in the form of a fancy chair before sitting down on it. I noticed how Akeno and Rias looked impressed, not so much by the fact that I was capable of creating a chair from demonic power but more because of how detailed it was. I take pride in how my training has allowed me to have an excellent grasp on how to control my demonic powers, and even if I tend more to be a power-type due to _Sora no Bokun_ and _Juryoku Oni_ I still am capable with other aspects. I just have a tendency for large areas of destruction, that is all.

"Good night Akeno, it is good to see you here with Rias. Correct me if I am wrong but are you helping her with the schedule for tomorrow?" I said, making it a point to completely and utterly ignore the nonsensical Kiba.

I am that petty.

"Joseph-sama, it is an honor meeting you here." Akeno said.

"I agree with her as well, Joseph-sama." Kiba said with his pretty boy fake smile as he put his hand forward for a handshake.

I smiled at Akeno while completely ignoring Kiba's attempt to be polite. Unless he apologizes in dogeza for daring to tell negative things about my future Queen I will not even acknowledge his existence.

Seeing this Rias looked like she didn't know what to do as she saw Kiba look a bit distressed, but honestly, she shouldn't be like this. She should know that the only reason as to why he didn't 'disappear' for saying negative things about Maria was only because Rias would be sad if he was to be found in some gutter with a nameless holy blade inside his guts and with his face disfigured.

She should be happy that this didn't happen.

.

.

.

I may be overprotective of my peerage and those close to me.

"Rias, are you and the others ready for the training starting tomorrow?" I asked, so as to dispel this awkward mood in the air.

"Yes, we just need to make sure to inform Sona that we will not be attending class for the next two weeks and that ought to be fine." Rias said.

"Don't worry, I already informed Sona while on my way here about this. But while we will not be here WE will be present just the same." I said with a small smile.

The three looked confused about my statement, so I decided to explain things to them.

"I talked to father and he agreed to lend us some of the doppelgangers that my house have under control."

Rias looks like she understood what I meant, but before long she looks at me startled as she asks.

"Why have I never heard that your house has some doppelgangers working for it? I thought they were almost instinct already."

"Not quite, the doppelgangers are a rare species, sure, but they are far from instinct. They are quite adept at hiding at plain sight and it is extremely hard to differentiate them from other members of the species they are copying. Luckily my father's queen managed to spread the message that we from house Barbatus do not discriminate against them and that we would enter a contract with them to work for us while offering the best conditions possible for them and protecting their families from anyone who wants to hurt them. It also helps that my mother's Rook, Pandora's Actor, is a well-known Pawn and a doppelganger of the highest class." I explained.

It was not a quick process, but it is a fact that my family now has about 4 to 5 thousands doppelgangers working for us.

"And why exactly is this not public knowledge? What do they even work with?" Rias asked.

"Gardening." I said, using my most stoic face.

Well, I suppose that working as spies and telling my family of all those pets and weeds that had to be cut down can count as gardening as well.

"Anyway, there will be a few coming from tomorrow onwards to act as us. This way no one will be any the wiser about it amongst the humans without having to rely on mind control magic. And, just a tip but I think you all better prepare because the training will not be anything that easy to deal with." I said, changing the subject and making them pay attention to what was really important. "We will be going to the border of the devil territory and the demons' territory, it will be a very intense training as you all need to learn how to fight."

"But we do know how to fight." Kiba protested.

I could not resist, I ended up turning to him for the first time since I entered the room, and I could only give him a condescending smile.

"Sure you can, when there are rules to limit what can and cannot happen and against those you can win easily enough. But, that is no fighting. Fighting is when your life and physical integrity is at stake, when you have to pull up 110% of your potential and hope it doesn't fall short, it is when you fight for survival instead of defeating the other person.

"I want you all to learn, learn how to truly fight and more important to survive. It is the best and fastest way to truly grow strong, and I want to make every single one of you strong." Well, if mister blabbermouth without any music appreciation capacity becomes the demons' lunch I will not cry over it.

That little speech seems to finally have let them realize what this next two weeks will be like for them.

Hell.

* * *

 **Writer's Note:**

 **I decided to post this early because I have reached a Hallmark on this story.**

 **I did it, this story officially have 100k views. I never expected people to like it, thank all readers very much.**

 **I will try postupo another one in the following 24 hours as commemoration. Thank you all for your support.**


	36. Chapter 36

As we walked through a desolate area where you could clearly see that the ground beneath our feet is blood red and the smell of iron is all around I could only think one thing.

'Yep, these are the Bloodslaughter Steps for you.'

Right now mine and Rias' peerages are on the Bloodslaughter Steps, one of the places closest to the demon's territory. This place was where hundreds of battles happened, so many people died here that the original ground is red from the blood spilled here and there was a constant oppressive air all around that discouraged anyone from staying here for long.

Well, not that it mattered to me or my peerage as we came here quite often whenever there was a raid going on. I don't even know how many enemies me or my peerage killed in this place, the area here that almost dripped in a dreadful air did not bother us in any way.

Behind us is the most advanced military settlement from my family, the City of Slaughter, this is the place where the strongest military force from my family resides. Traders from all places stop here, it is a mostly lawless area as we want to let the soldiers there learn to fight and survive above all else as well as make as many shady businesses happen where we can see and know what is going on. This is also the place where my family gets a big portion of our finances as this is where we receive taxes for actual protection toward the merchants there (the ones who don't pay can still set up shops, but if they die or are stolen there we will not get involved and may even send some people to help clean the merchandise t later either sell or use ourselves).

This is also necessary to guaranty that the city would keep standing even if other groups try to invade as it is an advantage for everyone to keep the city working. It has more than oce been conquered by other groups and races, but the city keeps working the same way and we are the ones ruling it for the last thousand years with an iron fist, anyone that tries to take our city is eliminated together with their entire family and possibly the entire race.

That is the place we left Issei, Leonardo, Asia, and Rias' two new pawns there together with the commander of this town, my father second bishop Fluder. He promised to look after them and make sure they get proper training there, but as a guaranty, I asked for Chris to stay there and look after them.

Rias wanted to leave Gonta or Kiba there too, but I advised her otherwise. Gonta woud be cheated in a matter of minutes and Kiba could not be trusted there alone as it is quite possible that he would look for information about the Excalibur fragments there and ignore actualy taking care of things, (this city has some of the best info bookers in the entire Underworld, getting info about the Excaliburs or about the Holy Sword Project there is all too simple) also I would NEVER trust someone who don't understand the true art that is Maria with one of my (temp) pawns.

"Rias, you and your peerage have to listen to us for this next three days. After that, we will return town, rest, revise what happened, and come back here." I said seriously.

"Why are you so serious? Normally you are never so serious sempai." Koneko asked as she munched on a cookie.

"Why? Simple, just keep walking with us for a few more minutes and you will see why." I said ominously.

With luck, they will get paranoic, something that here can help save your life.

After walking for about 15 more minutes I noticed a small bulge on the ground.

Amateur.

I ignored it and continued walking, I want to see if anyone else will notice. Sensing them I saw that my peerage (except Caesar) noticed it but didn't react much, however, from Rias' peerage only Koneko noticed and only when she was way too close to it.

And so, a black claw came out of the ground at high speeds trying to screw Koneko. She tried to avoid it, but the ground underneath her feet sank just enough to make her lose her balance and not be able to avoid.

CLANK

A sound similar to two metal plates hitting one another rang on the air as the claw hit Lo'lo that stepped in the way of the attack. It didn't even manage to make more than superficial wounds on Lo'lo's body before trying to retreat.

"Don't even try, prey!" Lo'lo yelled before catching the retreating claw and pulling it.

A demon was excavated out of the ground as Lo'lo did that, the thing must weight at least two or three tons but it was still light for Lo'lo. As the demon came out we got a good look at it, it was grey, full of scales, and at least 7 tendrils that ended in claws. Lo'lo couldn't care less, he jumped at its direction before punching it.

SPLAT

The blood and viscera rained down as Lo'lo came to the ground. A smile plastered on his face as he released a guttural yell before bolting to face more enemies.

When he is like this it is better to let him go out and 'play' for a while, when he gets tired he will come back. It is almost as if he was a dog when I say it like this, but the 'play' that he does is more on the deadly side and he is quite the civilized and good person when he is not letting his instincts take over.

After he left in about 15 more seconds there was more sound of battle in the distance.

Turning around to look at the others I said.

"Wellcome to the Bloodslaughter Steps, here there are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of mindless demons and beasts at all times searching for food, which for them it is us. If you want to survive, pay attention to all signs of enemies and be careful to not be careful or your surroundings. Because here" A demon very high in the skies launched a torrent of fire in my direction, which I sliced through before launching my own magic to launch a thunder at it and kill it. All without any change of my position or stopping the conversation. "an attack can come at any second and from anywhere."

As I saw that everyone was paying attention I gave a small smile.

"Good that you are all listening, now we will separate in smaller groups to further help you all." I said. "Akeno, you are to go with Narberal and Nagito as Narberal is quite excellent in lightning magic in practical applications which she can help teach you and Nagito will ensure that you will have to learn to deal with quickly changing situations, after all his luck is just that bad."

"Fine for me, Joseph-sama." Akeno said.

"I don't remember my master asking your opinion, you lowborn uncouth peon." Narberal said without losing a beat.

"Don't be like that, Narberal-chan. At least we should train her so as to let her reach her fullest potential of being a proper stepping stone for those that truly mean anything for the future." Nagito said in answer, making Narberal to hesitantly nod in agreement as Akeno didn't know how to react to that except for letting some sweatdrop. I guess she can handle it as she is a bit of a masochist and sadist and she definitely will learn some sadist things with these two and explore her masochistic side as well.

"Koneko, I want you to go with Phillufy and Haineko as both of them know how to tap into their wilder side" Try not to smirk at this double meaning Joseph, try not to "which can be useful for you as you don't really use your nekomata skills as much as you could."

"Okay, Joseph-sama." Koneko said before she felt a weight on her head. As she looked up she saw Haineko sitting on her head in her cat form.

"I don't want to walk, carry me around." Haineko said, making Koneko look baffled. Which didn't get any better when Phi-chan went ahead and took out a pack of chips from Koneko's backpack and started eating it as if it was normal. I never knew that a nekomata's hair could stand on end just like a normal cat, but seeng Koneko right now I guess it can.

"Gonta, you are to go with Solution and Mukuro to try and learn more about stealth. You are big and strong, if you can learn to hide a bit more so as to get closer to the enemy you could face them better in a more practical way instead of being basted around by magic attacks from afar."

"Gonta no do like sneaking around, but Gonta learn if this helps buchou." Gonta said with Solution nodding to the side. She is fiercely loyal to me and seeing him act like this makes her happy as she utterly despises those who act against their master. Mukuro only allowed herself the faintest of smiles as she kept looking around in all directions, she was never one to talk needlessly when on a battlefield and this was one through and through.

"Finally, Rias I think you should go with Caesar and Entoma as the two can teach you about using more diverse attacks, you do have the bad habit of over-relying on your power of destruction and you should try and learn how to be creative with these two."

"Fine for me, Onii-sama. I will teach her well." Entoma said enthusiastically while Caesar looks uninterested. He probably will not put in any effort if I let it like this, so I guess I should give him some proper inspiration.

"Caesar, I heard that you were almost late on the last mission because you were fooling around," He turns to me, clear panic in his eyes as he started sweating profusely. "I suppose I could forgive this, but you seem to not be that animated for this work I am giving you so-"

"Don't need to worry, Joseph-sama! I Caesar Clown, the greatest young scientist of the entire underworld, no, the entire reality present, past, and future, will follow your instructions to utter perfection." The desperation in his voice is funny, so, so funny.

Now, even though everyone agreed to do as I said (I did give good explanations here after all), but the final say was with Rias as this is her peerage we are talking about. I don't want to overly control her as I do like her independence.

Rias thought about it for a while before nodding her head.

Good.

"It is good that you all agree to my plan, now-"

"And me?" Kiba said.

"I have other important warnings for you all. First is that-"

"Hey, are you listening? What should I do?" Kiba said again, his 'prince charming' mask breaking if only a bit.

"you all should NEVER go too deep into the steps. The deeper you go the stronger the evil energy is and-"

"Are you pretending not to listen?"

"the more likely it is to attract the mindless type of demons, such as the one you saw just now. The ones deeper inside are-"

"Is my presence so thin?"

"much more powerful and crazier than the ones here. If you go there as you are now it is quite likely that any of you will die. Any questions?"

"WHAT SHOULD I DO?" Kiba, already without any sort of patience, yelled right at my face.

"...no one? Did you all really understand everything?" I asked as confirmation, seeing the funny faces of everyone around.

"Joseph." Rias said.

"Yes, Rias-chan." I answered immediately.

"Would you please acknowledge Kiba's existence? I think he is going to be depressed if this keeps up."

"...*sigh*. Fine, I will do it for you." I said before turning to Kiba who already went back to his 'prince charming' facade. "You, go with Peko. She is a better sword user than you by many times over, she can help you in getting stronger and help you in your notion of the battlefield as it is something you sorely lack. Normally I would tell any male that I don't trust that goes with any of the girls I am with to not do anything funny, but as you are most likely an asexual being that will only know how to play five against one for the rest of eternity I am not worried you would try anything." I said with a pleased smile, causing everyone to sweatdrop and Kiba to look disconcerted with the animosity.

"Young master, I would rather stay with you to make sure you are properly protected. You will probably go deep inside the steppes to train and I don't want you to get hurt." Peko said stepping forward.

"Don't worry, Peko-chan. This is only for three days and after that, you can come with me as long as you want if you drill on the fake charming there some common sense and actual battle abilities. You just have to be that babysitter for him for this time, okay?" I said. This way I know she will listen as I did say that she could come with me in the near future.

I also have my reason as to why I want to go alone to the depths, there is a chance I can find members of some of the tribes that my family fight against in there and I want to capture them myself. These demon tribes are mostly nomadic so even figuring out their location is hard, there are usually only three ways of doing it, first is walking in the demon's territory and hoping things will work out which can easily lead to disaster, the second is paying an information booker for the intel you want which is quite expansive and there is no guaranty that the location is still accurate by the time you get there, and third is to capture a member of the tribe and force it out of him.

I don't want Peko to see me do this, not that she hasn't seen me extract information before but because she would want to do it herself and I would rather her not to get mixed with this sort of business. Inflicting pain and killing are simply too different of concepts and I don't want her to have to inflict pain on others when I can do it myself.

I am protective of them in the weirdest places.

Anyway, after this, we all separated in multiple directions. I was alone as I mover towards the depths of the steeps, I wonder what I will find in there.

* * *

Deep within the Bloodslaughter Steeps, a group of demons was walking around, searching for some extra prey. They had obtained some hefty goods this time around, some wannabe devil and his peerage that was over-ambitious and tried to enter to deep into the steps with his negligible strength.

Pathetic.

It was something that was quite normal in the steeps. Not only it was possible to find many demons, which could be potentially used as familiars, but there were also many rare herbs deep in here. These herbs could be used to produce medicine that boosted ones own power for a duration of time, something that the devils liked using before their rating games to increase their chances of winning. And, when the materials were good enough, it was impossible to detect by the rating game authorities so it was a commodity that was sought after for every devil.

But, the thing was that it was also normal for the devils that entered here to be captured by demons such as these ones.

The Giant Demon race was one of the largest and most powerful demon races, not only because of their powerful bodies and vitality that made them almost impossible to put down unless you destroyed their brain or heart, but they also were highly intelligent and were all natural users of Touki and demonic power specialized in reinforcing the body. They had bodies that were deep black with an interesting luster, but their eyes were a deep tone of red that reminded one of blood. They were all immensely muscular with around 2,5 or 3 meters tall, their teeth jugged out of their mouth just a bit, they had hair that reminded one of steel needles for how sharp they are. These demons were all born with a tail when they are born and when they reach 10 years old they lose the tail as it dropped to the floor and then was used as a spear that grows sharper and more dangerous with the number of victims that die to it.

The Giant Demon race was also known for one more thing. Slave trading.

They captured devils and other species whenever they find them to then sell it to those who would be interested. They also took pleasure in raping the woman that they captured, and if they happened to get pregnant they would keep the woman to become a breeding mare for the tribe as she was fertile enough. Any children born this way was either sold away or used as slave force to capture more individuals to continue the cycle.

This was one of the races that, if you find in the wild, there is a general consensus about what should be done.

Exterminate without failure.

And, right now they were laughing vigorously as they looked at the captured woman they obtained.

"Hey, let me have the blue-eyed bitch. I am sure that I can make her squeak like a pig within 5 minutes!" One of them said, before another one tries to punch him.

"Don't get cockie," The puncher said righteously, making the blue eyes girl look hopeful for an instant. That is, before the next words of the demon. "You know that boss has the right to call dibs on the captured prey we obtain. It is just after boss chooses that we can go and gang up on whoever is left."

With that, and seeing the light vanish from that woman's eyes the demons around started laughing even more, they took great pleasure in crushing vermin's hopes. They believed that the moment you completely crushed someone's hopes and dreams was when they were the funniest.

This was a raiding party that was sent by their tribe, it was composed by just ten Giant Demons as they knew that being in too big of a group here is counterproductive as they would become a target for every other force. They were now quickly leaving the depths of the Steeps, they already obtained some prize and be there was just asking to be killed by others or be captured by other Giant Demons, they did sell members of their own species as slaves after all.

The leader of this convoy was named Xnarf, he was the tallest and strongest of this group. He was one of the candidates for future tribe chief, and he was even ambitious enough to think of uniting all tribes in the future and creating an unstoppable army of slaves to steamroll over the devil's territory as he wanted to be the king of the entire underworld.

This, actually, was a dream shared by his entire race and most other intelligent demons. They as a race had enough power to challenge and defeat any of the devil clans they faced without any problem, except for the houses of Baal, Belial, and Barbatus which would be incredibly harder to deal with as these are the clans with the highest military power of the devil race.

Xnarf was atop a palanquin, he was enjoying the smell of blood in the air as the slaves bellow him were forced to carry his 400 kg of pure muscle on their backs. Of course, every single carrier was a young woman that was nearly naked, the only pieces of clothing were their panties and the metal collars in their necks to remind them of their position.

In the back of the procession was the group of metal cages, inside there were more than 30 people from not only the devil race but also from the fallen angels, dryads, dwarfs, and elves. They all looked terrified or resigned to the life they would get in the future if they even could count what they would get a future.

However, amongst those that were captured just one of them was oddly calm about the whole thing. It was a single man with an appearance of 17 or maybe 18 years old, he had a calm smile on his face with a short black hair, blue eyes, and wearing a blue yukata with a white shirt beneath it. However, despite his current happy smile, everyone else in the cage was looking at him as if he was crazy as he simply stood there smiling despite the situation.

He was calculating in his head what would be the best course of action for him right now, he wouldn't even mind if he to be was raped or anything of the sort (he did have delicate features and with demons there is never certainty that this can't happen) as he was only thinking if there was any sort of way to make this situation be a turning point in his own personal mission to destroy his enemies. As long as he obtained his wish he wouldn't care no matter what happened to himself, he just wished for one thing and one thing only.

The eradication of the Old Satan faction.

His name is Seta Sargatanas, a pure blooded devil from the extra devil houses of Sargatanas and Belphegor, and known as the worse knight of the underworld, someone who was traded away more than ten times. He had a history of over 100 matches during her more than 50 years of life (after 16 devils grow physically old VERY slowly) and not even a single victory, and she was one of the keys to what will one day happen.

The end of the houses of Leviathan, Asmodeus, and Beelzebub.

He was wondering if he could give the Giant Demon race some form of technique to be teleported directly into the Old Satan faction territory, he knew clearly that tens of thousands of innocents would die or worse if he did that, but he honestly did not care in the slightest even if a thousand dead babies appeared under his feet. He would condemn thousands of innocents without a second of hesitation, if not for what happened next.

A thunder flashed across the sky as someone flew at this place from far away at absurdly high speeds. He looked like a mix of devil and dragon, power emanated from his entire body as he looked down at everyone there.

This meeting would be the turning point in his path, this was the point that his life of mindless hate for everything would change, the moment he first meet Joseph Barbatus, the one he would come to call master.

* * *

 **Writer's Note:**

 **I said I would post it, and here it is. I decided to do it like this and make a big part of the training be 'off screen' because it is boring to write training sequences. Also, for those who did not understand this place and the race of demons belong to Martial World, a wuxia novel that is amazing in many levels and I totally recommend. Also, the new devil I mentioned is the one I decided to make Joseph future knight and a character from Rurouni Kenshin, the smiling assassin and loyal servant of Shishio, Seta Sojiro.**

 **I hope you guys like this decision, I am doing this one because of a review from RedBurningDragon that commented about him and I think his idea matches well with the story.**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys like the chapter. Follow, Favorite, and Review are welcome.**

 **Bye.**


	37. Chapter 37

As I was walking towards the depths of the Bloodslaughter Steeps I saw a high amount of corpses from all races here. The ground itself grow more hard as it was covered by the bones of who knows how many people, this truly is a sacred place for those who want to fight non-stop (I guess this is the reason why Vali said to me once that if he ever gets married this would be the place of the honeymoon).

However, one thing caught my attention as I walked deeper inside. I could faintly sense the energy from devils and demons fighting here, and not any type of demon as it was the Giant Demon race. Those were amongst the most hated individuals of them all, but most importantly they are filthy rich due to the slave trading and the constant raids.

If this group is big enough I may be able to get some juicy information that just might lead me to their tribe, and if I do get this info I just might convince father to send a squad from our army to eradicate them all as it should be, everyone hates these fuckers.

As I started walking to the direction I felt the battle going I saw a group of no more than 3 Giant Demon race individuals basically playing with a full peerage of some snob kid that is way over his head to come this deep into the plains. The demons basically are ignoring all of their attacks, none of them is getting any sort of damage whatsoever as I continue to watch it from around 2 kilometers away while hiding myself with an invisibility spell (grandma taught me many useful things indeed).

Huh? This is peculiar, one of the devils, a black-haired one using a yukata, clearly was about to strike but suddenly his strike went from strong to pathetically weak. Is he injured or does he have some sort of strategy?

I guess I will have to wait a while longer as the devils finally lost and were captured. Now, I just have to follow them and everything should be fine.

* * *

I have been following these idiots for about twenty minutes now, and it is safe to assume they still are quite the distance to their base and that no other reinforcements will appear as they seem to want to make haste to their base.

If this wasn't the Giant Demon race I would let them go back while stealthly following them from the back so as to see their location, but this is the Giant Demon race we are talking about. If I did do that the women there would all be raped who knows how many times before help arrives, and this under the conception that the help would even come to the right place as it was completely plausible for the tribe to simply move away.

No other option, I have to end this shit.

Activating Sora no Bokun I used its extreme flying speed to appear in front of these fuckers in a matter of seconds.

When they saw me and the power I was emanating they were not scared at all, these guys raveled in fighting to the death and carnage so the mere concept of fearing someone else was foreign to them. The only thing I saw as I look at these 10 is some degree of wariness from some and haughtiness from the one in the palanquin.

No matter, they all will die soon enough.

"You scum, you deserve death!" I said as I launched myself at the nearest Giant Demon with the speed of a bullet, my sword crackling violently with electricity as if to properly express my hidden emotions as it descended upon my target. If you want to imagine it, think of it like me smiting this fucker down with the hammer of Thor himself and you get an idea of how much power was contained in that one strike.

As the blade descended downwards towards it's prey, the target blinked owlishly, momentarily caught by surprise before he smiled evilly, probably thinking that I would be as weak as the ones they caught. With that logic (as sick as it was), he raised his weapon, a large and primitive-looking Spear, and clashed his spear against my sword.

'Heavy...' I couldn't help but note in my mind whilst Sora No Bokun constantly trembled against the Spear, the two weapons generating large sparks from the strength their wielders poured into them. 'His spear is quite heavy, probably a few hundred pounds, and it seems he knows how to use it with mastery...' I added to my notes on this guy, as we clashed over thirty times in a matter of 3 or four seconds. His body, in that brief moment, became covered in at least ten or so different cuts of varying degrees, but he didn't care in the slightest as he simply marched forward to keep attacking me.

The guy showed me a rather berserk smile as he simply ignored any damage he obtained, but it was not like the others were quiet during this too.

Other two Giant Demons came from my left and right, the spears pointing right at me as they tried to pierce my body, but I used _Tweh_ to move back a distance. With that out of the way, a plan of attack quickly forms in my mind, before I jumped right into the air. At the apex of my jump (which i'm proud to say was over 60 feet) I aimed Sora No Bokun directly downwards at the three grouped up Giant Demons.

" _Bararak_ (lightning)!" With that shout, a huge lightning bolt shot out of my sword with the speed and strength of a Railgun. It descended down upon them, burning those trees instantly together whilst creating a large hole on the earth and rising a large amount of dust in the air. 'Perfect, some cover!' I thought o myself as I fell towards the ground in a spiraling motion, before flipping forwards a few times and landing in a crouch. That done, I instantly look up and made my way to where the cages were, to where the captive slaves were located.

A hot fire erupted in my chest, one of resolve and determination, as the possibilities of what could happen filled my mind. 'I have to get these people away from here even if only for them to not know exactly how powerful I am as I don't want others to know all my secrets and I don't know how many of my secrets I will have to use to win this.' I thought to myself. The lackeys I didn't have too much concern over, but the one in the palanquin, while not at the level of Sairaorg, would be a different story. If he were a devil, he would be said to be one step bellow the big trio (me, Sairaorg, and Vali) but above everyone else on our generation.

... So yeah, I cannot take this lightly.

As I broke the chains using my sword I opened the cages and said "Run" just in time to turn around and go into the middle of the Demons like someone doing a suicide run. Though, to those who knew me then this would be just like something Vali would do (I will never admit this, but he influenced me more than a little with his fighting tendencies). My eyes ran over the Giant Demons, scanning them intently for weaknesses. The six that were on their feet all had bloodshot eyes, a CLEAR sign of intense rage and bloodlust, as they saw their slaves running away. They had just got them, so I guess they would feel more than a little mad that I got them out... meh.

Before they could pursue, I rushed towards them with my sword in hand to make sure they would focus on me and only me. Bathing Sora No Bokun in Lightning, I quickly activate _Jin_ to get in close to one of the Giant Demons before he could react. Thus, this allowed me to bring my lightning covered sword backwards (if anyone I know saw me like this I would electrocute them if they call me Sasuke 2,0), and perform a rising upward twister that took both of us into the air. 'Heh, honestly, this reminds me of Zoro's dragon twister from One Piece... oh, how Ironic.' I couldn't help but think to myself with a chuckle.

Then, I went and decided to use one of the powers I got from practicing the black Heaven and Earth techniques: Cry of the Phoenix which again, shows immense irony since I'm associated with a Devil clan descended from one. Apparently, this move was like an instant shriek, with no preparation and energy going through my circulatory system.

Therefore, when I took a short breath and released a bird-like screech, I ended up using a shock wave from the shriek to launch my opponent into his comrades like a wrecking ball. 'I came in like a WREEECKING BAAAALL!' ... Sorry, couldn't help myself.

Speaking of wrecking balls, I took the liberty of pointing my sword behind me and unleashed a quick burst of lightning, using it as a means of propulsion to launch me towards my gathered enemies. Thanks to my previous attack, they were still reeling and thus unable to react in time. Therefore, I quickly flipped forwards and applied another technique from the Black Heaven and Earth school: the Split Heaven Kick. Whilst not as strong as my other techniques, its still strong enough to cut through a metal platform with ease, and that was something I betted on. Plus, with a bit of Magic enhancing my leg and Sora No Bokun being used as a followup with Lightning ready to be released on contact...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

...Yeah, you could say I put a shock to their system...

Bad pun is bad.

The thing about my offensive was, that not only was the Split Heaven Kick a diversionary tactic for my main one coming from my sword, but I also packed so much Lightning into my sword, that their brains and hearts couldn't endure it thus they promptly shut down. That was the useful thing about lightning, it can short-circuit shit quite easily if you put in a large enough dose. I'd thought of this since the beginning actually, so yeah I'm going to stroke my ego a little bit, though not too much since I'm still in battle.

Even so, when I glance over at their charred bodies, I couldn't help but smirk evilly. None of them had the chance to die gloriously in combat, and I don't give a fuck. I'm not here to entertain them or any shit like that after all. I'm here to kick their asses, get the captives out of here, and capture one of them for interrogation.

'Now then, lets deal with the rest of these clowns.' I thought as I look to the last 4 Giant Demons. They'd managed to stay out of my way so far, a wise choice, though they didn't chase after the slaves as A: they were more focused on me, and B: they'd gotten pretty far away by now, too much to attempt a chance without a doubt that I would catch up. Their leader though, in classic leader fashion, stuck to the rear and watched it all happen, though he did seem to be noting to himself whilst glancing with repulse at his remaining subordinates. If I were to guess, I'd say he is thinking how he should punish his subordinates later for not doing things in a more 'glorious' way, such as runing head on when facing an enemy and letting the merchandise escape.

Though, I'll correct his thinking of him going to be surviving this with my own two hands.

But for now, I'd best make a move, and I knew just how to take out the 4 lackeys. It involved one of the... stronger techniques from the Black Heaven and Earth School: the Chaotic Heavens Destruction Strike. As the strongest technique this martial arts I know (thank you system that is trying to kill me) has, it is no surprise that it is both powerful and complicated. Of THAT I can say without a doubt it is freaking true with how many times I broke more than a dozen bones practicing it till I deemed it battle ready. It combined all the teachings of the Black Heaven & Earth School into one big package deal, which makes me respect it all the more.

There are three main steps in starting this technique.

Gather the three different Ki (or in this case energy that is Touki, Demonic energy, and electricity from Sora no Boku) flows and focus them into one area.

Take 3 steps back. This movement is due to it belonging to the Rising Fist Arts and provides a chance to execute an Iron Kick. They were explained as 3 " steps" with a unique pattern, probably related to the Black Heaven and Earth School's movement teachings.

Finally, at this point, the user assumes a posture with their back turned toward their opponent and fists touching near the bellybutton. From this point on the user must factor the technique into the situation they are in and use it accordingly.

If I could see the enemy right now, they'd probably be thinking with their expressions 'what the fuck?' right now. Though, I can sense them already charging at me with mighty war cries, determined to stop me from executing my technique. Though, judging by the angry shouts I heard earlier, it was due to their leader's orders.

The next step is that after gathering, focusing, and preparing their Ki (or energies in my case) the user instantaneously leaps forward (in my case I use a mix of _Jin_ and the extreme speed that this state I am can grant) and brings their right fist forward while turning their torso to maximize the blows power.

Its strength (if I was merely a normal human) is such that it creates a small shockwave upon impact with its target and managed to tear open the side of a Black Origin Threshold user as well as maim one of his arms.

This would be proven for, as I proceeded through each step, I launched myself at the Giant Demons with _Jin_ and, well the 'small shockwave' was a bit different when I used it. In this case, I literally released a shockwave strong enough that all four of them were blasted away in who knows how many pieces. It was a veritable rain of meat pieces that started falling to the ground, making me release a small smile as I admired the scene even if just a bit. Perhaps I will try and include this in my next novel, I am looking for new inspiration after all.

I was thinking that mere moments before I moved my sword to block the Spear of the likely leader. If I said the ones before were heavy, then this one felt like a building falling on top of me. I thought this to myself while putting all of my strength on my sword arm to help keep the Spear from going through me. I have to say though, that the tip of that spear reminded me of the first few battles I had with these things. I would not be ashamed to admit that I was scared as all hell back then due to these things' reputation and that their Spears could literally tear me to small pieces with one thrust. Even now, that possibility still rings true, though I'm no longer concerned with it now.

Still, the REAL fight had begun with this guy finally growing a pair and jumping in.

"Hoh, your skull will be a great cup for celebrations on my tribe." The Demon said in what I imagine is the closest thing these monsters have to a complement to enemies.

I ignored his compliment as I moved ahead with a _Pachingak_ (Split Heaven Kick), a technique that allows me to fuse different types of energy together on my leg before I released an ax-kick on the opponent. If I were to make a comparison this technique makes my leg be as sharp as a sword and immensely heavy, making it normally impossible for anyone to stop it.

Apparently, this guy is one individual that CAN stop it as he poured his Touki and demonic energy into his spear before moving it just enough for me to hit the shaft of the spear instead of his body. The spear bended the slightest bit but it ultimately remained undamaged, which also proves that his spear is of the more flexible type, which is the type that can help pull out the most strength of the spear since the user won't suffer any damage due to the counter shaking of the spear when it hits something.

In his tribe, this sort of thing is one in a thousand occurrence and it is a symbol of someone who has great talent, someone who is the pride and 'future' of the tribe. This really is troublesome, I have to end this soon and take him away from this place as who knows when someone will come to try and find him when they see that they are running late, not to forget that I launched some thunder attacks earlier and those are quite eye-catching.

With a decision made I started attacking him in earnest, I won't bother using attack magic on him as it will probably be a bit less than useless, so instead, I decided that I must use a direct confrontation. That is the specialty of his race, but I don't give a damn.

The strong one will win in the end.

And so, the fight continued in earnest.

After who knows how long we exchanged an uncountable number of strikes, my sword and his spear collided so much that I doubt anyone miles away won't have listened to the sound of metal clashing against metal, we also were full of marks of bruises from kicks and punches. The ground we are standing now was uprooted and it was covered in blood not only from the killed Demons but also from ourselves.

The blood pumping through my system is ringing on my ears as I evaded one spear strike that had a whirling of demonic energy surrounding it, but even as I evaded it he simply detonated the energy sending it in all directions and managing to wound me. I felt a layer of the skin from my shoulder be eaten away, but it didn't matter to me as I moved my sword in an upward fashion to cut him from the hip to the shoulder. But even though my sword's edge is quite good it barely managed to pierce three centimeters of his skin covered in Touki.

This was a battle of attrition through and through, continuing this way was completely disadvantageous for me as I DO have a time limit of sorts, so I guess a different strategy is in order.

Using _Tweh_ to move away from him, he wanted to follow me but I spring multiple earth pillars on his path using some of the magic I prepared just in case (direct attacks may be useless, but it doesn't mean magic is useless as it is just a matter of use it on a different way).

With the time I managed to buy I first deactivated Sora no Bokun, my form going back to how I normally look like as I put the sword back in the sheat. Following this, I put my energy on the ring on my finger.

" _Make the Earth tremble with one move_ ** _ _JURYOKU ONI_ _**(gravity demon)."

With that my body changed again, instead of scales it was brown fur, and instead of a sword my hand became absurdly big and monstrous.

Finally managing to destroy all the pillars the leader ran at me with bloodshot eyes.

I don't care as I simply move my hand in a downward form as I say my next attack's name.

" _Lellazo Madraga_ (Refined Hammer of Will)!" And with that the gravity around him increased to over 100 times the normal, forcing him to his knees despite his best efforts. He still had a fearless smile on his face as he tried to move, but I simply raised the gravity ten more times and made it so that he was unable to even move anymore.

Juryoku Oni is something I can only call cheating. Its power over gravity amplify my own inherited power over it in a synchronized fashion in such a way that I can force gravity to reach 500 times the norm easily, it is such an absurd power that my grandfather from my mother's side can even create small black holes, so it is expected that this power of mine is more than enough to make anyone die due to multiple problems in the body such as damaged blood vessels and things like that, and the best part is that I don't spend that much energy with this sort of attack so I can keep it up for hours on end without a problem.

Now all I have to do is wait until he is completely exhausted due to resisting the gravity and the battle will be mine, but just as a precaution I should launch a detection spell to make sure no one is watching, this is somewhere far too public and I don't want others to know about this power I have.

Huh, what do we have here? Someone actually decided to stay and watch from the side, and it was one of the captured people no less.

Well, I gave whoever this person is a chance to live but if they want to watch this so much I guess this person won't mind if this is the last thing he/she will see.

Sorry, but you are not leaving here with a head still attached, nothing personal.

This is just business.


	38. Correction

I am SO sorry, I posted the wrong chapter 36. I was too sleepy then and I did not post the right chapter whatsoever. I already fixed that so I hope everyone can forgive me.

I will post two chapters today as an apology, I am so sorry for that mistake.


	39. Chapter 38

As he continued seeing the fight from far away he could only marvel at the intensity of it all. The Giant Demon was strong no doubt, but what is amazing here is the devil.

He battled with amazing intensity and it was clear that he knew how to adapt and use many different powers at once and the finesse of it all was even more amazing. He also noticed how his wounds closed quickly while shining green and that he uses a sword of thunder to battle, that means one thing.

He is the Heavenly Demon, Joseph Barbatus.

He heard about him some time ago, 'master' was bitching about how he should be above Joseph as he was just a 'half-breed' as his 'master' liked to say.

But, for Seta, being half-breed was better than having this cursed body that he has, be pureblood and having to live with the others from the Old Satan faction is thousands of times more disgusting than anything he could ever describe.

Joseph Barbatus, in comparison, was something of an enigma for Seta. He was known for helping others, saving many from risky situations, having a hallo of genius since his youth in where he could do anything he desired and do it better than most could ever do. But, the part that interested Seta more was his more ruthless and evil side, one that he could only discover in rumors and that there was hardly any definitive proof off, but that could scare anyone if even half of it was true.

From exterminating entire armies to dealing with extreme prejudice and evil towards any enemy he has, there were even rumors of torture and studying how to remove sacred gears leaving the person uninjured or hurting them as much as possible. There were even some rumors about how he abducted hundreds of stray exorcists, stray magicians, and beasts so as to work for him as the army of his house.

But the scariest thing is that despite the rumors it was hard to be sure of anything at all, it was like Joseph purposely spread just the right amount of information to scare others away without damaging his image or making any information about him definitive while also spreading some rumors that were clearly false together making be sure of what he did all the harder.

This was one of the devils Seta wanted to approach if at all possible. He could be of great use in his wish of destroying the Old Satan faction once and for all. But, Seta still didn't know for certain how strong he was so he avoided that.

Well, now he can clearly see Joseph's strength.

It is more than he expected, many times more. He was the strongest young devil he has ever seen, probably at the same level or even higher than Sairarg Bael and Vali Lucifer, two more well known for their strength young devils.

He could be a solution, one that could help him in his personal crusade of destroying the Old Satan faction. But, how could he approach him? He had no connection with him and someone that could hide so many secrets would hardly ever trust a stranger for anything.

As he thought about how to approach him the decision was made for him as he felt a sudden gravitational pull towards his stretched smaller hand, a pull that he could not fight against at all.

* * *

Joseph P.O.V.

Well, what do we have here? It is a boy that was watching my fight, and was even the one that was 'defeated' on purpose before. Curious, this really is curious.

"...You have twenty seconds, tell me one good reason for me not to kill you." I said, while the black-haired male levitated in a gravity 'prison' of sorts. If he tried to move up the gravity would throw him down, if he tried to go down the gravity would make him go up, it was a little trick I created to make sure that any enemy I used it would be 'sealed' in a way that they can't do anything at all.

It took me more than a week to figure that one out perfectly, but after studying the way house Valefor's (my mother's house) used gravity I got this idea and managed to do it.

As the man stopped struggling he looked straight at me, his blue eyes penetrating as he opened his mouth.

"My name is Seta, I am a member of the Old Satan faction and-"

Just like that, I raised the gravity where he was many times over, shrinking his 'prison' to where he was forced to curl up like a ball despite his best intentions. Trash from the Old Satan faction deserves way worse than to be crushed alive in a ball before being kicked away like a soccer ball, but I will make do with what I have.

However, as I was preparing to crush him I noticed something strange. When he saw my reaction there were some emotions that flashed through his eyes, emotions that I could only discern as I am way too used to reading people due to my time in Vegas. The emotions I saw was not fear or despair, but relief and understanding.

It is as if he is happy that I had this sort of reaction when I was about to finish him off, something that could never be lied to as the moment someone sees death is when their truest self is shown.

When I stopped crushing him I stayed quiet while waiting for him to continue, which he did after a few seconds.

"- I hate every single devil of the Old Satan faction. I would like your assistance in destroying them completely, for that I can offer everything and anything you want. I just want them all to pay." he said, clear venom and hate in his every word.

Huh, who's say. I ended up finding some crazy dude that just so happened to be what I wanted right now, a potential spy or at least someone that can be useful.

I don't have the slightest trust in him, I can see in her eyes that he would not falter even for one millisecond if even his own death was the price for the destruction of his enemy. This sort of person is the best and worse kind to have around, the crazy type that is focused in a single thing above all else. I honestly have no real reason to deny his request, I won't trust him anyway and every single information he brings will be verified by myself using other ways and I won't hesitate to leave him if the need arises, but right now he can be of use.

As I thought that I stopped the technique to lock him in place, letting him drop to the ground breathing hard to bring some oxygen back in his lungs (he could barely breathe as his chest was being pressured due to my power). However, even as he continued trying his best in doing that I continued vigilant.

I looked down at him, and instead of gentlemanly thoughts like helping him get up, I could only imagine what shall be done next. I turned an eye to the Giant Demon race youth that finally passed out, as I saw this I stopped my magic and created some basic magic chains to lock the giant demon in place. This is something my grandma taught me, it is a 'basic' technique that would lock him well for at least a few hours, it is based on the chains of Hephaestus and it is resilient enough.

Now, with that done, I turned to this mystery.

"... I am not apologizing for that. I was a bit hasty in trying to crush you alive, I admit it, but I am still a man of my word. You can talk now, I won't hurt you unless you tell any lie. You would do well not testing me." I said, putting my giant claw/hand in front of him.

If I detect even the slightest trace of a lie, or hear something I don't like even if only the slightest bit, he will joining the last few hundreds that I killed in these very steeps.

"*COUGH* *COUGH, *INHALE*. I understand." he said, his eyes surprisingly not showing hate for my actions but deep understanding. More and more curious. "I will introduce myself again, my name is Seta Sargatanas. I am a pure blooded devil from the Old Satan faction that wishes above all else to kill them all. If you want to do the same, I will do whatever you require of me with no hesitation. For me, as long as I can destroy that disgusting group I would not mind spilling my filthy blood to the point of death and have my body crushed afterward."

"... Why? What is your reason as to why you want the death of hundreds if not thousands of devils?" I asked. I need to know exactly how deeply his hate run, this the best way too know what he is like.

He took a deep breath, probably feeling some relief that I am not killing him (yet).

"I was born in a branch house of the Sargatanas clan, while I was younger I admit to also believe in what they taught me about my superiority due to my pure blood from two powerful houses, Satanichia and Belphegor. However, I did not awaken any of the two house traits by the time I should." She said.

Sheesh, that is harsh. He was basically like Sairaorg, but many times worse. Those from branch houses are already discriminated against and he was in one of the Extra Devil houses from the Old Satan faction no less.

That they didn't kill him off is already surprising.

"As you might already expect, my Lord," I like the sound of that, 'my Lord', it sounds good to me for as strange as it may sound. "It didn't take long for me to get bullied. And it wasn't just at the level of words either, there were many who physically attacked me as well for being a failure. Even my mother was killed not long afterward for the 'crime' of only giving birth to such a failure after dozens of years. Heh, what a lie! My sperm donor just wanted to have a new more useful marriage so as to raise in his status! That piece of shit even tried to sell my hand to whoever was interested and paid anything for it, and the funniest part is that my mother's side of the family didn't do anything about it. No complain, no words against it, no nothing!

"They just ignored my suffering without a single care, even when I managed to find the 'kind' grandpa that always used to say how much he loves me when I was younger and they thought I was going to be powerful, he looked at me as if I was dirt and KICKED me away from him." His voice was growing more and more heated as he continued to talk, his emotions overcoming himself.

I, however, stayed a stone as I tried to find any lies in her words. Until now, there were no lies or half truths.

"Then, when not even a single person accepted my hand the sperm donor simply threw me to the slaves. It was then that I finally saw the slaves for more than that. They were people, they were alive just like I was and they were genuinely more gentle and deserving of respect than that THING that contributed to my birth ever did. It is strange, I was at my happiest when I was amongst the slaves. I even found friends, uncles, aunt's, brothers and sisters, I had a family amongst them.

"I then grew up there, amongst the slaves. It was in no way easy, the work was hard and I had to avoid the 'nobles' with all I had just to survive. And then, when I was older, your father happened. His announcement of what he intended to do to those who hurt children was like a nightmare to the house I was. My sperm donor was one of the first to get caught, he was judged and killed right before my eyes fro his particular tastes in 'fun' and seeing his blood fly was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I and the other slaves were then transferred to the main house, but they feared my mere presence as it might be base to an attack against them as well. Sargatanas clan is not nearly strong enough to hold itself against the Barbatus' army, so they decided to pretend nothing happened and killed me off before reincarnating me as a knight of the heir of the Belphegor clan. They even threatened my friends to make me listen and obey faithfully them and their noble cause.

"They told me that they would treat them better, if I was useful, but that was also a lie! I discovered not long after that they were already dead and rooting. The only things I found were some bones rotting away due to my 'master' wanting to practice his decay trait from the house of Belphegor.

"So, you see, I have nothing left. No future to speak off and nothing to attach myself besides my desire to destroy that faction that saw all of this as entertaining."

As he finished talking I finally managed to figure out the strange thing I saw in his eyes when he was close to dying at my hand. He consigned herself to death, he only wishes to bring down as many of his enemies possible with him.

For this, I can only say that this just might be a God (ouch, my head hurts) sent for my objectives. If what he said is true that is, which I think it is because the emotions I feel in his voice is simply too hard to lie and it does fit in with what I saw in his eyes.

Deep-seated hatred is hard to pretend, his story had somethings that I still am not certain if are the truth or not, but I am sure that at least the general outline isn't a lie. He definitely will betray me or anyone else in a heartbeat if it were to give him even the slightest advantage towards his goal, but even so, he can be of use.

But, for me to let him go, simple worlds are definetly not enough. He might be a ticking time bomb for the Old Satan faction, but he is much more dangerous for me right now. I don't want ANYONE finding out my second soul weapon for now, and I especially don't want others to have a more proper judgment of my powers (even if theycan go further than this). I want others to think of me as powerful, but not as powerful as I really am.

I guess I will have to use that. I would feel bad on using it, if I didn't know this was the best chance of saving myself. Survival first after all.

"I understand, so I will give you two options." I said. "You can either die here and now, your revenge and feelings simply being one more nourishment to this cursed land that has already taken in the dark emotions of millions in the past and will continue doing so in the future, or you can accept taking a slave seal from me. This seal, in case you don't know, is a more insidious and dark version of an evil piece system to ensure loyalty. If you accept, I will let you go. I will even help you in your desire to kill every single Old Satan faction member and will give you the decapitated heads of one hundred of them for every one of your family members they killed. I will even do my best to ensure that you will live to see it through and that you will not need to suffer alone to do this, but only if you take my hand now.

"Now decide, what is most important to you? Your dignity, or your revenge?"

As I asked that, I honestly expected him to say something against my words. It is something beyond extreme, something that most cannot ever dare to accept or agree, but what I saw in his was not denial, doubt, or even resolve. Just hope.

But, he did not immediately take my hand.

"And how can I know you will not sell me out? Or simply forget about your promise and not help me when the time comes? Or if you are even strong enough for that?" He asked.

I smiled and said.

"Just follow me for now, that should be plenty enough." After that, I activated a communication magic circle to talk with my peerage. "Guys, I have a quick mission for you all. There is a group of Old Satan members here in the Steeps, I want this place to not have any of them in the next half an hour. The last I saw them they were going towards the city by going west, but amongst them, there is one I want you all to keep alive and bring him to my coordinates together with the heads of the others. If possible don't let Rias and her peerage see that, no need for them to get into our usual business." After that I passed to them information about their general appearances, strengths I could see during their previous skirmish, wondering if it would take one hour or just half of it for them to bring me their heads.

As I heard they accept the mission I simply sat down on the ground and started waking up the Giant Demon in front of me. I want the information in his head about his village, their fighters and the power they control. If they are weak I will end them myself, if they are stronger I will ask for some help from the city's soldiers.

Now, it is time to extract information out of someone unwilling to say anything, a proud warrior that has a absurdly high confidence no less. This will get a bit bloody, but then again this guy is most certainly a rapist and a kidnapper and who knows how many lives he ruined and how many more he would ruin if left alone.

I have no remorse when doing this sort of thing to these type of individuals, now the only question I have is, should I start by removing his nails or by flaying his skin and force feeding it to him?

Meh, let's go for the classic piercing every single joint of his hands with a nail and then letting him know he will never again be able to use his hands to fight. That usually works for 'proud warriors' after all.


	40. Chapter 39

"I ALREADY TOLD YOU! PLEASE LET ME GO! I WANT TO DIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!" The Giant Demon leader yelled as I was doing the finishing touches on the whole 'peeling the skin of his body' thing.

"Hum... Nope, now let's continue this, shall we?" I said in a sweet tone.

I have been in this place for the last 45 minutes, getting all the intel I wanted out of this piece of work right here. I admit, he lasted longer than I imagined before he started cracking down, but he cracked just the same as all the others I did this.

When a certain threshold of pain is passed and you start tormenting the mind to the point of breaking down it becomes a situation of either the person dies or he spills the beans. This one had chosen to die, even tried to bite his tongue and all, but I simply put some of my blood into him when he was one step away from death and he was right back to where we started thus giving me the chance of testing other techniques that force out the most pain on others without necessarily killing them.

Gotta admit, the information he has is quite good. He not only explained about the location of his tribe he also told me about the number of warriors there. And yet, the most interesting thing was the last information he told me about.

A grand gathering of all the Giant Demon tribes will be held in a few weeks! This is a golden chance for me and my family to whip out most of the population of this tribe, save probably thousands or even tens of thousands of slaves, obtain incriminatory information about many devil clans that buy said slaves so as to either blackmail or use as a 'just cause' for us to move in to destroy those clans, and more importantly, it is a chance for my clan to go there and obtain enough riches to not need to worry about the money to supply our armies and to help pay for the Gremory clan's debt.

This is much more worthy than simply one tribe, it is a possible golden chance to make my clan grow that much more.

Now, now that I got all info he had I am just doing this to him because, well, why not really?

I don't have anything else to do as I wait for someone to bring me the things I requested (the heads and the young master of the Belphegor clan) and to be fair this piece of shit here told me about how he tortured dozens of devils, including those from the armies of my clan, and raped at least 200 different women, many of them children no less. For this sort of individual mercy is something I see no reason to give, making him suffer to the absolute limit before slowly cutting off every member of his body until he is only just a head and the torso, following it up by feeding his still alive form to some mindless demon around here, still sounds like letting him off the hook easily.

Seta saw me doing all that quietly, he has been staring at me for all the time I've been doing this and didn't seem shocked about anything I did. He didn't even react much when the demon started to describe how he would escape and rape every devil he could see, but he did react slightly when I followed that comment of his by removing his balls, saying that he now was a eunuch, and shoving a rock up his ass telling him to enjoy it as this was the last 'pleasure' he would feel for whatever was left of his life.

"Boss, is this what you wanted?!" A loud voice rang through the plains as Lo'lo came running directly at my general direction. Behind him, a bundle of clothes that I think is dripping blood as he stopped right in front of me. He was griming like crazy as he left the bundle drop to the floor, revealing the heads of the peerage members and the king of the peerage still breathing but clearly full of bruises and didn't look in the condition of doing much of anything.

And now, here is the turning point. What will be the reaction of Seta as he now can do as he wishes? Will Seta slowly kill his former master, do it fast, or will he try and save this garbage?

Now, what will it be?

He looks at all this, his eyes dilated when he saw this scene. He was clearly distressed about it, as if he did not expect all this to turn this way, but after a moment he calmed herself down. I got to admit, he has great self-control. If it wasn't someone with my degree of experience in analyzing people there would be no way others would understand anything about him.

Then he took out the sword that was on her side, slowly approached his master who looked at him and started shouting.

"What are you doing? Kill them and save me already! You are my tool, listen to me satandamnit!" As he saw he continues to approach him instead of attacking us he started hyperventilating and screaming even more. "Why are you not listening to me?! Do you not care if your friends die? You know that my family will slowly kill them if anything were to happen, right?! So listen to me already, you dumb bastard! You are my family's dog, so act like it and do as your master tells you to!"

He ignored everything, but when he was one step away from him Seta looked down at him and said.

"Didn't you already kill my friends? I saw the corpses, and I know it was you who did it while practicing your 'powers'." He said, a hint of anger in his voice that was otherwise cold.

"...were they one of the experimental targets? I could swear I said to bring me those who were unimportant."

Seta did not care, he could not and would not care about anything else he said. He simply stood there for a few seconds before-

SLASH

Cutting the head of his 'master' without even showing a hint of emotion.

I raised an eyebrow and said.

"I am surprised, I expected you to torture him for a while or something of the sort."

"...no need. This trash is just one more from the Old Satan faction, his death just means one person less in a big list of those who still need to go" He said, his eyes then turned to me with energy as he kneeled to the floor and said. "I accept your proposal. Put the slave seal or whatever else you may need in me, as long as this means that those who need to die really do die I will not complain no matter what you decide to do."

I gave a slight smile, this worked out better than expected. Not only he accepted the deal he also showed himself capable enough to detach himself from his hatred and not follow emotions blindly.

He can be of good use.

"Okay, we will begin now then." I said, before cutting my index finger and approaching him. He closed his eyes and stood still as I started drawing a magic seal in his head directly. As this happened I continuously purred energy into the mark, it shined more and more maliciously as I finished drawing it.

When I finished drawing the circle I felt a pull from my soul, I let that pull take away a small trace of it so as to enter the circle and complete the contract. As the contract finished the circle disappeared slowly as it integrated into his mind and soul, making it so that we can communicate with one another whenever we want and that, if I ever so desire, I could explode the magic seal inside her mind killing him instantly and without even the slightest possibility of rebirth or another life.

It is a very cruel seal, but it also has advantages such as the communication and the fact that I can discreetly transfer energy into him whenever I so desire. This is something that was commonly used during the time before the great war, the four original Satans then gave these seals to their most loyal generals and fighters to: A - help in the battlefield; B - make sure that the generals would not be enslaved by another since there can only ever be one slave seal per person.

"Now that this is complete, I want you to go back to the Belphegor household. Take the heads of the peerage members and tell them that the Giant Demon race captured their young master and that they send you back to tell the conditions for his freedom." I said. "The conditions must be to take demonic steel and enough gold to buy an entire mansion, and that it must be delivered on a clearing near the Demon Forest south of the Blood Steeps in five days time by no more than 10 people that must not include you as they didn't like your face. Also, I want you to watch carefully for what the reactions will be, I want you to pay extra attention to see if they show any sort of speech about they being 'betrayed' by the Giant Demon race as that could prove that they have been buying slaves from this race." I explained what I wanted her to do.

He nodded but asked in doubt.

"But why send them here, it is not like this piece of garbage is alive or anything."

"Simple, because with this any suspicion about if you betrayed your master will be gone. Also, I plan on killing them when they show up and make it so that this useless garbage of a Giant Demon is found there too, as only a corpse, of course, to make both sides believe that there was a struggle of interests and that the result was the deaths of all these people. With luck the two will start fighting one another, weakening each other quite a bit, or at least the connection that already exists between the Giant Demons and most Old Satan houses will weaken which could potentially lead the Old Satan faction to move in an even more brazen manner to obtain the slaves they constantly need. If they do start moving in a more brazen and stupid way we can catch them on the act and move in with a just cause to destroy them in large scale or at least put sanctions on them which will force them even further and make them even more desperate.

"This way all those who harbor bad thoughts about the New Satan faction will show more of their true selves, allowing for an easier target to kill." I explained, earning Lo'lo cleaning his ears in complete disinterest and Seta to widen his eyes at my explanation.

This one move can help me in multiple fronts, and even if something were to go wrong my family and most Old Satan faction families are already enemies so there is no real harm if they were to try and move in first. The only difference is who will hold the 'just cause' flag, which is admittedly advantageous for this sort of things.

Also, this will flame in the chaos that has been brooding in the background for far too long. Destroying the balance that the Underworld currently lives in is inevitable thanks to the Chaos Brigade, but with this, the destruction will happen on MY terms and in a way I can control better.

"...Amazing, you planned all this in just this short while?" Seta asked.

"Yeah, it wasn't even that much. I have other plans set in motion right now and, with some luck (thanks Komaeda), things will be changing in the Underworld very fast very soon." I said.

I know that many threats are on the horizon, some closer than others, and that I must prepare to deal with them. Dealing with this matter is more like an afterthought than anything else. The Old Satan faction is a weed that must be uprooted as soon and decisively as possible, the current Satans were far too lenient and 'good' to those they should have eliminated. I understand that they wanted to preserve the devil race strength and numbers, but with the creation of the Evil Piece system, there should be no reason to maintain the existence of the Old Satan faction.

If the current Satans don't wish to move for something stupid like 'maintaining the purity of the bloodline' or to 'keep the strength of Nobility', heck even 'fear of losing even more strength on a new civil war' I can only call them foolish. The desire for revenge in the Old Satan faction is too strong for them to truly integrate the current society, and they are a bunch of shitstains that cling to an old glory that was already lost and only they refuse to see it like so. Keeping them is waiting for them to attack and cause even igger chaos and damage.

Now, how will this new plan play out, I want to see how this will go.

* * *

After that, I said to Seta that he needed to be more 'roughened up' to make everything more believable. He asked if removing a limb would be enough and I had to stop her before she actually chopped off her leg or something. I just gave him a high number of injuries that, while not fatal, are enough to make him look miserable.

He did not complain even once, no matter how wounded he got he did not seem to care about it at all. As long as it was for his dream he did not care about himself anymore.

Anyway, after this I sent a message to Demiurge-sensei and my father about what I have done, informing both of what I did and what I was planning to do. Father was pleased with my actions and Demiurge-sensei showered me with endless praise, I do admit to feeling good hearing this praise. They agreed to help me do this, sending one group of their own to help my plan to roll and also to start putting more spies all over the Old Satan faction to help to register proves of their involvement on their acquisition of slaves.

After that talk I moved towards the depths of the I approached the depths of the Steeps I saw more and more mindless demons. This place truly is a magnet for these guys, but I kinda understand.

The very center of this plains is where the first demons died during their war against the devils, it is also the place where the originally seven Satans were reduced to just four and weakened considerably. It is said that when they all died their powers did not disperse, instead concentrating in the center of this place turning it into somewhere that could create wondrous medicines and other incredible objects, even letting someone learn some of the techniques and powers from them.

However, despite how amazing this place is there is hardly anyone who can truly enter on the center of this place due to how the mindless Demons surround it. The ones close to the center are absolutely scary existences, it is to the point that they could face most God's one on one using just instincts and their powerful bodies. And the worse part is that there are dozens of those of this power level there.

There even are rumors that the strongest there is one that lives right in the middle of the place and it is of the same level of the Heavenly Dragons.

So, getting that close isn't a good idea, but I plan to go as far inside as I can and see if I can face off against one of those who can fight on equal terms against a weaker God.

Partially because I want to see how strong these types are, part to steal whatever precious items that are there, and mostly to see how strong I am with certainty as I will eventually be facing Loki and those even stronger than him.

As I continue going deeper and deeper I see many strong people everywhere, some are trying to go deeper too while others are desperately running away being hunted down by mindless Demons and other people. Here is a land that is centered in one thing only, slaughter.

I even see some watching me carefully, probably wondering if I am a easy prey or not. They will probably wait until my first fight here, if my power is big enough none will try to attack me (unless O am wounded), but if I am not too strong I will probably be swarmed on all sides and killed swiftly.

" **RRRROOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRR!"**

A roar echoed as some dumb girl failed to notice the sleeping Demon, thus waking it up. Said girl was pretty cute, and I mean that in the past tense as when the Demon woke up its first movement was jumping at her and taking off her head.

CHOMP CHOMP

The Demon was eating the head as if it was a delicious treat, its eyes looking at everyone around as its powers rolled all around. This one was close to Ultimate-class, a tiger-type demon with a dark and red mane and with the tail looking just like a scorpion tail. Its eyes are incredibly evil, I also feel that it is not so much a mindless Demon as it seems to have some degree of intelligence even if just the amount you see on a small child.

This one will do nicely for a start, with my sword in hand I start circulating my power using the _Black Earth and Heaven Technique_ as I prepared myself for this and who knows how many more battles.


	41. Chapter 40

Back in the city things were not going so great for Issei.

The one that was responsible for his training, that old bastard Flunder, was someone who he could not get along at all. When Issei started talking to him about the wonders of oppai he simply ignored him and continued his classes about magic.

Not only that, but he also put Issei to train with the army of the city. It was just so many barely dressed men that were ripped as all hell and covered in sweat practicing hand to hand combat that Issei got the impression that he was on some sort of prank, or in Kiryuu's weet dream.

It was a terrifying experience to him, and what made it worse is that the others were getting it SO MUCH EASIER than him!

Asia was managing the healing of the trops, and many half-dressed ikemen were surrounding her on all sides and complementing her, Issei even heard a few of those men calling her an angel and saying how they would be honored if he ever were to marry a girl such as her. She was learning how to heal faster as there were always dozens of people getting hurt and all of them were being sent straight to her, and some even purposely got wounded just to see her more.

Issei wanted to beat them all when he saw this, oh he wanted that so much, but he was the absolute bottom of the barrel here. Every single soldier he was around was a veteran of combat with experience fighting against people and mindless demons of all sorts. In this place there were mostly just the elite as the weaklings either got strong or just didn't live long enough.

In the other hand, Leonardo, Kirika, and Shirabe were doing great. They managed to activate their sacred gears, Kirika had a gear by the name of **Igalima** and Shirabe had one called **Shul Shagana** , both being similar to Chriss' sacred gear as in both are full-body armors. Kirika's had a design that reminded a bit of a witch costume, the main colors are green and black and it had a vibe that made one think it was strangely sexy in her already developing body. Shirabe, on the other hand, had an armor with pink color, her legs were protected by a thick armor with wheels underneath to make her move quickly anywhere, her arms were also protected from the forearm down and her twin tales were also, for as strange as it may sound, protected in the same way.

Kirika's armor came with some hooks that could come of her shoulder area to help her do multiple things and she also had a scythe that she could use that could launch curved blades with, it was quite the handy gear. Shirabe's armor, in the other hand, allowed her to create saws from any armored part of her body and control them easily. The best one she found was to use her twin tales to use it as it would leave her hands free in case she needed them and the saws from her twin tales were capable of being big enough to work as improv shields if needs be.

However, the biggest shock came from Leonardo when he revealed his sacred gear. Annihilation Maker was amazingly powerful with the only real limit being the amount of energy of the user and his imagination, and it was lucky that Issei never got that one or he would already have created some form of aberration completely made out of boobs.

But, the most envious and infuriating thing for Issei was when he found out that Leonardo's training was to play video games and eat some special products that could help someone have a better capacity for energy. Leonardo never trained for it so even if he could use the gear he could not make many monsters due to how low his energy reserves are and Joseph left specific orders to give everything that could help Leonardo in his path to getting stronger as he was part of his peerage and was entitled to such privileges.

So, Issei saw the difference between a kid that got great food (those things that were given to Leonardo were especially delicious) and playing games for training while Issei had to continue his muscular training where he felt that he would collapse at every second due to tiredness, but whenever Issei was almost sleeping Flunder would launch a revitalization spell on him and make him continue.

* * *

At the end of the second day of this Issei and the others were walking the streets of the city, it was a well-deserved rest after everything they had gone through in this last one and a half days of training. However, this in itself was also a training of sorts for Issei and the others as this city was far from a safe place.

While looking around there were plenty of thugs, criminals, those walking with skulls strapped to their belts, even a few who were wearing a full body armor made of the bones of those they killed. Another thing that was absurdly common around this place was the sheer number of those who were selling illegal stuff, drugs and things of the kind were abound just as weapons from all sorts of shady origins were here.

There was hardly anywhere better to find weapons than this place, after all, no one looked into where the weapon you are buying came from and the prices were all discounted as buying them could be dangerous in their own right. Even cursed items that could kill the wearer in a matter of days was mixed with simple jewels, it was an illegal bazaar that was open to the public.

Joseph told Flunder to let them roam the place with some cash, they would all have equal amounts of money and it was to train them in seeing sneaky movements and be vigilant as well as learning to measure your opponent correctly. Over here there were more thieves than decent people and there were even more of those who only posed as strong but were actually weak and that not to mention the sellers that lied about the correct price of things, identifying this and being guarded towards the thief, to not be taken advantage off by those who are actually weaklings, and to identify truth and lies is what Joseph wants them to learn with pure experience. It was a lesson not only for the battles close by but also for their lives.

Of course, he also asked Criss to always be there as a bodyguard in case things go south and talked to Flunder to request a few of the more elite troops to watch over them secretly in case there was a need, all to make this outing as realistic as possible.

As the five people were walking the streets Chriss watched everything carefully, she also went through these streets more than once and she knew how dangerous this place could be.

"Listen to what I will say, we must watch ourselves carefully in this place as it is quite dangerous and... Hey! Are you freaking listening to me!?" Chriss shouted at Issei as the young pervert was eyeing everything around as if he was a child going to the ahopisho center for the first time.

"Wow, is that the super limited edition and ultra rare first edition of playgirl?! That thing is ultra hard to find." Issei said as he ran towards a bout in the streets.

"Boy, you got good eyes. This one was the first one ever made and even had some special photos that were later removed for the others! And it is selling for the cheap price of 70 maoucious (the currency of the underworld)!"

Issei looked at the pocket money given to him and saw that it was around 500 maoucious, so he happily bought it without a second thought.

As he was looking over the other products someone bumped on him, it was quite the crowded street after all so it wasn't that surprising, but when Issei tried to buy another rare 'treasure' (secret photos of idols changing clothes) he realized that he was out of cash.

"What? How did THAT happened?" He said as Chriss sighed on the side. He was so innocent and simple minded that he didn't even realized when he was stolen.

And it was by amateurs no less, in this city if someone bump into you it is always possible that they have pickpocketed your wallet.

When Chriss was about to tell him what happened someone else opened his mouth to speak.

"You was pickpocketed, obviously." Leonardo said as he came from the other side of the road with a wallet in hand, which he threw to Issei. "Try not to lose this next time."

Issei was embarrassed for what happened and a bit mad at this, but at least now he had his money for him to buy what he wanted to.

"Huh? Why is it that there is no more cash in here?" Issei said as he opened his wallet and saw nothing inside. He turned to Leonardo who simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Who knows, I have no idea." He said seriously, before he said. "On a totally unrelated note, I just received 430 maoucious from a little thief, isn't this funny?"

It was at that moment that Issei realized what happened, and just as he was about to get mad at the kid someone else started laughing.

"Hahahaha, did you see that Shirabe-chan? He completely outsmarted the pervert-sempai, desu!" Kirika said as she rolled in laughter.

Shirabe, on the other hand just sighed at her friend's reaction as she said

"Kiri-chan, it isn't okay to laugh at others like this."

"But, but this is so funny! Just look at pervert-sempai's face, it is too funny desu." Kirika said while pointing at Issei who could not help but say.

"Why are you two calling me 'pervert-sempai'? I have a name you know?!"

"We know, desu! But Koneko-sempai told us to call you that." Kirika answered, which Shirabe started nodding her head on the side.

Issei could only sweat drop at this, not only was he being mocked my two young girls but Koneko-chan was teaching others to call him 'pervert-sempai'! This was so bad for him that he even momentarily forgot about the money that he lost, that is until Shirabe turned to Leonardo.

"If you have more money now I want one pair of earings." She said while still stoic.

"Oh, oh, and I want some candy, desu! And chocolate, a necklace and, and-"

"And why should I buy any of this for you two?" Leonardo asked shutting them up, before the two smiled and said.

"Because you have more money than any of us and we are cute." Shirabe said, puffing out her non existing breasts.

"Yep, yep, death! We are cute, desu!" Kirika said just as well before locking one of her arms with the still shocked Leonardo and Shirabe locking her arm with the other one and started dragging the kid.

Issei could only look as this happened, before he started cursing at how even a kid was luckier than him when it comes to love and how he was going to be alone forever if even a kid could get someone when he couldn't. That is, he did that until Chriss literally kicked his but and said.

"Shut it, you dumbass. Neither of us has any experience with that love crap so I don't want to hear you mention it like it is the end of the word or some crap like that." And like that Chriss went away huffing in irritation.

Issei could only look at it before sighing and going after them, this time relieved that he didn't have anything else to be stolen (even if that was also sad)

* * *

When they got back into the lord's mansion Issei was weeping as he saw how his magazine was stolen just as his belt and documents. He almost got kidnapped twice and had to run away from a fight three times, all in the span of 40 minutes.

But, the worse was how he had been yelled at by Chriss every five minutes as she kept saving his ass and throwing it in his face. After hearing the plethora of insults she was capable of producing to describe him he felt that he would rather be called 'pervert-sempai', it at least qualified him as a sempai.

Leonardo too had suffered during this outing, but in his case, it was because he went through one of the worse experiences a boy can ever have (in his opinion). Going to a girl shopping spree as just friends and as a luggage carrier and wallet. By the end of it, all most of his money was taken away by the two excitable girls beside him and all he had managed to get for himself was a book with descriptions of many demons and some parts like skin and claws so as to let him get a better feel to what they were like.

But, if it wasn't for him pickpocketing at least half a dozen fools he would not have been able to afford even that as Kirika and Shirabe were using his money as if there was no tomorrow.

As the two boys sighed there was a commotion starting as soldiers were arguing.

"I saw it, I swear I saw it." the first soldier said.

"Heh, sure you did. And now you are gonna tell us that you defeated one of the Maou? Please, such a lie cannot be believed by anyone." Another soldier said with others laughing at it.

The first soldier got irritated and said.

"I am speaking the truth! While I was on the watchtowers using one of our magic binocles I swear I saw an evil-faced demon spider of at least 30 meters be swallowed by thunder!"

"Please, don't insult our intelligence. These creatures live deep in the Steeps and usually live in packs and for one of them to be of this size, it would already be comparable to a weaker God! And that not to say that there would probably be more than a hundred other weaker spiders being controlled by it, there is no way someone strong enough to take something like that down would enter the Steeps without our knowledge."

This discussion had gathered some interest from others, but the one that showed the biggest reaction was undoubtedly Chriss as she almost tripped to the ground.

'Was this that damned idiot's doing?' She thought for a while before shrugging her shoulders. 'Don't matter, if it isn't him now it will be in the future anyway.'

* * *

At the point where the lightning in question had fallen the form of Joseph could be seen laying in the ground. Despite his Twilight Healing working at fanatical levels to restore him to normal he still felt weak all over.

To be honest, he wanted to find a relatively weak mindless demon to face here in the depths of the Steeps, he knew that there were large differences in power amongst them after all and he was not confident in beating even those on the weaker level much less the strongest ones.

Luckily he found one such creature, the evil-faces demon spider was one of the comparatively weaker mindless demons on this area, but it was accompanied by more than two hundred other spiders of the same type and with powers around High-class.

Joseph tried to fight with everything he had from the get go, but he still could not take on everything as he was. He was swarmed and almost killed tens of times, holes being made over and over in his body as he was constantly ambushed from the back. It was so bad that he didn't even see a way to run away after a while, so he decided to try his trump card.

He activated the Black Origin Threshold.

After he activated it the helpless situation became many times more helpless, for the spiders.

Joseph became an incarnation of pure rage as he continued to let his mind go more and more crazy while using every single part of his body as a weapon to kill as many spiders as he could reach. In the end, even the strongest one, the 'king' of this colony, was destroyed by him using a single attack.

Things got so crazy that even other 'kings' from around came in to try and kill the invader, but after 10 minutes the only thing that was still standing there was Joseph's form that was covered in blood. If it was from enemies or himself he has no idea.

After the ten minutes was up the energy of this form was fully spent, Joseph fell to the ground as basically every single muscle that could be torn was and every bone that could be damaged was either fractured or outright broken.

This was the bad side of using this skill, it was scarily strong to the point that Joseph managed to kill at least 5 God level opponents without much of an issue but it would only last for at most 10 minutes and after that the user would get so damaged that even with his healing it would still take him about one hour for it to be turned back to normal.

Joseph was now simply looking at the sky, thinking about this power of his that he considered basically the same as a Juggernaut Drive like Vali's.

'It is incredible, no doubt there, I managed to easily kill even those slightly stronger mindless demons without a problem after I had dealt with the evil-faced demonic spider. But, I must try and control it better. I could see what I was doing, but no matter how much I thought of doing something my body just moved as it desired. I cannot use it anywhere NEAR my peerage or innocent people as it is now. I must look for something to help me control it.'

That was the thoughts running through Joseph's mind as he created a magic circle to try and not call attention to him from other mindless demons. At least he got the remains of these demons, with some luck he could find ingredients and special items to let him use their cores to strengthen his body firther and help him be able to last longer in his Black Origin Thresshold.

If things go well he would be just as physically strong as someone like Lo'lo or Sairaorg, and that is most certainly not easy.


	42. Chapter 41

After returning to the city I decided to give myself a good night of sleep. It wasn't exactly easy to explain to Flunder and the others about why I was so absolutely tired, but after a while, I simply said that I was in way over my head and did something stupid and now I must rest.

Using the Black Origin Threshold is basically the same as exhausting everything I have all at one burst, I n eed at least half an hour after to be able to move and it takes at least one or two days to return to normal.

So, during this time, besides sleeping I decided to try and give my body a rest by focusing on the new idea for a book I had while hearing Alicia's story.

I NEED to become number one in this already as it is all that is in between me and my Queen chosen by destiny.

* * *

As the day passed I was completely engrossed by the production of this book. I didn't even notice that my and Rias' peerages came back from training until I heard the sound of bodies falling to the ground in exhaustion.

Rias, Akeno, Kiba, Koneko, and Gonta were all laying on the ground, none of them capable of giving even one more step as they simply tried to take air back inside their bodies.

"...I assume everything went fine, correct?" I asked my peerage members as they were mostly just fine, a few were a bit tired but that was just about it.

The first one to step forward was Peko, who was intensely looking at me and trying to see if I was hurt and where (my face probably is still a bit pale, the Black Origin Threshold is truly a last of the last resort).

"Kiba and I did decently well, I helped him in learning how to better wield the sword as a part of his body instead of a tool."

"By *PANT* throwing me *PANT PANT* to the wolves, literally." Kiba countered while still on the ground, now that I take a better look there are a bunch of gashes in his clothes and a few bite marks as well.

Good, that will teach him what happens to the infidels who don't love the songs of Maria!

I nodded to Peko who gave a serious bow before stepping back.

Everyone else was pretty much the same, progress was made for every single one of Rias' peerage members and they learned to be ruthless to a certain degree. They still were far too innocent to my taste, but at least now they wouldn't hesitate in combat as much.

"Now that you all are here and still need some time to heal I will obviously provide the ideal conditions." I said with a smile that made my peerage members take a step back, they know what I am about to do and none of them have fond memories of when they went through it.

* * *

"This hurts, why is this hurting so much?" Rias said while laying down on a special medicinal bath my family had prepared some time ago.

It was a well developed and hard to come by commodity, it helps to heal the body faster while also making the body stronger and more flexible by reconstructing the torn muscles with much greater power.

It is extremely hard to make as it needs materials that can only be obtained on the Demon's side and using some parts of the stronger mindless Demons, to be more specific a core where most of its innate magic is stored and that can be used by a lot of things including raising one's magic reserves and physical fitness. But, despite how great it is, there is one thing which is absolutely true.

It hurts like a bitch!

It is like it is opening the bones and muscles throughout the body and using this medicinal paste-like water to rebuild it completely.

My peerage and I all did it at least once, some of the more physical ones like Lo'lo, Solution, and I even did it 5 times, and it is always a whole new world of pain every time.

The results are undeniable, it is by far the fastest way to not only make them go back to top form but also improve their physical qualities much further. The only one spared from this is Asia since I managed to convince Rias and my father to let the former num to go to my home and try to learn more about healing with Manshery (my father's bishop).

To be fair, I myself am also going to enter into one such bath later, I even manage to collect the bodies of a few of those mindless demons that I killed (the ones on God level) to help make my own bath. When I showed the corpses to Flunder he almost started drooling as he imagined what he could do with them, at least some armaments and armors are a definitive while alchemy experiments will most likely happen just as well.

I am just not entering one such bath now because I still am not fully recovered and it is still necessary to search for other ingredients of high enough level to match the mindless demon's bones and narrow that will be used.

Anyway, there wasn't much I could do for them as the bath continued so I simply went to go see how Leonardo was doing, while completely ignoring the screeches of pain from those behind me.

I did warn them that this would hurt a bit, but I do wonder why is Akeno apparently one step away from orgasm from being there?

Better not ask, and to make sure that Mukuro stays away from her.

...or maybe not. A bit of kinky in the bedroom would be nice, after all.

* * *

As I talked with Leonardo about the results of his training I must admit that I am surprised with how fast he is evolving.

He is already able to create simple monsters and was even capable of creating a Pikachu from Pokemon. My internal otaku was jumping in joy as I saw those two and I had to use every single fiber of my body to not go to Leonardo and order him to recreate every single pokemon just so I can say that I have 'catched them all!'.

Take that Ash, you useless protagonist (except in the XY season, there you were quite good)!

As I was fanboying over the pokemon in front of me, and probably destroying my image on Leonardo's eyes, my cell phone started ringing.

It was Maria.

Instantly I stopped playing with the pokemon (my heart ached when I did that) to instead answer the call.

"My Queen, my beloved wonderful Queen! How great it is for you to call me! Is there anything you want? Anything, just say the word." I said, and I mean every single word.

I don't know why myself, but whenever I am talking or around Maria I try everything in my power to make her happy. In exchange, we have spars every once in a while to help keep our skills sharp and to try and help her reach Balance Breaker.

The results? Well... I am close to equalling her, last I checked our score was 89 draws, 49 wins for me, and 50 wins for her.

Isn't she amazing? And perfect? And everything a man could ever wish for?

"It is nothing, everything is fine. I am just calling to congratulate you on your latest book and to tell you that I will be watching your first rating game. It is just a shame that I will not be participating with you, but perhaps by the youth gathering, I can be there by your side." She told me, and I must admit that I feel a rush of adrenaline as her words reverberated throughout my body.

She will see it? Is it true? If so there can only be one result I will think acceptable for this game.

Complete and total victory!

"Also," She said, before I could answer. "IF, and that is a big IF, you manage to show me how great you and your peerage is I might consider joining you early."

.

..

...

...

...

...

seriously?

Is it truly possible?

She, she will accept turning into my queen if I win this now?

That, that, that, THAT is fucking _**perfect!**_

"Don't you worry you gorgeous perfect head, I will show you and the entire underworld how strong I am and show everyone that me, and only _me_ , is worthy of having you! You will see the results of all the training I did during the years, and how I can protect you now and forever!" I said in quick succession, feeling in the clouds out of happiness.

It is amazing, how some happy things can come so fast.

* * *

Maria's P.O.V.

...cute.

Why is he so cute when I say the obvious?

I was looking forward to the newest release of his book, crossing fingers to see if he would get first place, but when he ended up in second place. I was probably just as disappointed as he was.

I wanted to see him succeed on this, I know he can and I am confident it is merely a matter of time. BUT, I also know that the youth gathering for the young devils is approaching as he revealed to me how worried he is about it.

I was hoping he would get that three times damned first place in that already so as for him to win already, but he didn't and I know that even if he is going to be going to the youth gathering and not having a Queen piece would be a huge disadvantage he would never beg me to join him (even though I do believe he would beg me to join him in bed at some point near enough in the future, and I am not confident I would say no).

So, I reached a conclusion.

If push comes to shove I might as well just go ahead and turn into his Queen already!

It isn't like I doubt it would eventually happen anyway, and like this at least I can help him during the gathering and if anything happens before that. I just have to stipulate some sort of 'test' so as to make his pride and previous effort not go to waste.

And that is where this rating game is gonna enter. I already talked to MOM and she agreed to help me watch it in her mansion and she said something about giving me 'tips' about what is to be expected of me as the Queen of her only grandson.

I wonder what is it? Perhaps a secret magic manual or maybe a legendary weapon she has kept in secret?

I am anxious to find out!

* * *

3° Person P.O.V.

In Nastassia's home (Joseph's grandmother) she was looking fondly at the pictures of her family, it has been almost an entire year since the last time she saw most of them and she was thinking about going to visit them in the Underworld.

But, that would have to wait until AFTER she gives Maria a very important class about what she expects of her and things she must know. The most important being the book currently in her drawer.

The very first version of a book she got as a commission for treating a nasty curse a youth from the Hindu pantheon was suffering.

The very first, and with unique and special entries that only those from the supernatural world can ever use, _Kamasutra_.

* * *

Joseph's P.O.V.

After that I talked some more with Maria, she told me all about her next musical tour and even sang me the latest lyrics to her next song. It touched my soul in how amazing it was, she truly is the perfect one to be my Queen.

As the call ended my face was on a silly grin, I am so happy that I will finally have her in my peerage.

And all I have to do is win.

...but if, by some freak accident of nature, I lose somehow?

(Writer's Note: This next scene will be in Joseph's mind only)

 _"Was THIS all you amounted, Joseph?" Maria is looking down at me after I lost to Riser. "If this is as far as you can go, I won't bother being around you anymore. I will only accept the best of the best!"_

 _"So how about me?" Riser appears with his usual smug smile on his face, his arms wrapping around Maria as he continues. "I am the winner, and as such, I am the better man."  
_

 _Maria thinks for a second before nodding._

 _"I suppose you are right, so let us go."_

 _And with that, the two walk away as I can only look. Riser's hands lowering towards Maria's perky as-_

" **THAT WILL NOT HAPPEN!** " I shout with enough energy that I think everyone in the city must have heard.

My peerage came running from wherever they are, they look ready to fight but confused at the same time since I normally do not act like this.

As I turned to look at them I think my face must be REALLY scary because every single one took a step back.

"Listen here, everyone! I want you all training for this rating game as if your life depends on it, BECAUSE. IT. DOES! If we lose this fight you all can forget any and ALL perks you are having right now! You all will only be thinking about and focusing on training, training, and MORE training until the youth gathering in two months! **DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR**!" I say, my voice menacing with a promise of pain if they do not listen to it.

I will NOT allow anything less than perfection during this match, Maria is watching and it is the last factor to make her decide if she will join or now. Anything bellow utter and complete perfection is unacceptable.

As they heard what I said everyone looked stunned, I have never threatened them to make them train harder but this is a unique circumstance. They asked me why my sudden change of pace and when I explained it to them everyone jumped in to start training immediately.

None of them, except for Leonardo who is creating Eevees right now, doubt that I am willing to go well and beyond to punish whoever fails me this time around. They all know how much importance I put on Maria being my Queen, I'd even be willing to go right to the hero faction and fight them all alone just to take back the True Longinus from inside Cao Cao if this was something Maria wanted.

As they ran to training I went to look for Flunder, as I reached his study he was preparing some weird potion or some shit like that, I don't care, I simply went up to him and started talking.

"Flunder-jii-san, I want that medicinal batch right now! And I want it to be as strong as you possibly can make it, no need to try and alleviate the pain if it dulls the effect even if just slightly. Also, could you find me as many videos of Riser and especially his brother's rating games. Especially the ones they lose as I want to see if there are any good tricks to defeat a Phenex."

"U-Understood, Joseph-sama. But, are you sure you want to proceed as it is? The effects will be much more explosive if we do follow through with it this way and the pain will be an untold number of times worse if this goes as you say."

I understand what he means, I know it very well. A big part of the things used on this medicinal bath is actually things to make the absorption easier on the user, it doesn't enhance the result in any way, if anything it diminishes part of the energy away, but it helps alleviate the pain of the process and this is enough to help to make the process bearable.

However, I don't need safe or easy routes! I need power, more than enough for me to defeat Riser, Kokabiel, and whoever else comes.

I am strong, but I need more than just what I have now.

Seeing my determination Flunder-jii-san shook his head and simply decided to accept my request.

I know I will probably regret this when I enter the bath, but it is what I decided and I am sure it will be worth it

* * *

"FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK! WHY DID NO ONE STOP ME?! THIS HURTS TOO FUCKING BAD YOU SONS OF BITCHES, I WILL KILL EVERY ONE OF YOU TO LET ME ENTER THIS HELL! NO, I WILL MAKE YOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUU ENTER IT NEXT! FUCK, FUCK, FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK..."

* * *

3° Person P.O.V.

"Damn, boss is really going all out in his screaming." Lo'lo commented while avoiding a punch by Koneko and blocking a blow from Issei.

It was decided, before Joseph entered in the 'second worse level of hell, just losing to be in Hades' presence', that the peerages would do a joint training n that a few of the stronger ones from Joseph's peerage would take on Rias' peerage members in a variety of settings. All against one, twoXtwo, threeXtwo, and so on so forth. It was to help prepare Rias and her peerage to anything that might be needed of them.

Meanwhile, the weaker members of Joseph's peerage were to fight against the soldiers garrisoned here and a few special instructors that Joseph managed to make his father allow to come and help. It was actually quite funny to see when Kiba was watching Peko and Munakata (Peko's father and Knight of Joseph's father) were going at it against each other.

No one could tell if his pride was fully shattered when he saw this and decided to learn as if he never had held a sword before or if he had fallen in love for Peko as he continued looking intensely at her every move. All that is confirmed was that later in the day after talking to Peko he showed a devastated look and when someone asked her what he asked she said 'Nothing worth my time'.

Meanwhile, Gonta was put to learn with Sebas (the rock from Joseph's father) how to better use his strength. Many Gonta-sized holes appeared in the courtyard later that day but Gonta was all smiles and Sebas only had praises for the young man, calling him extremely talented and with a bright future ahead of him. Gonta's answer to that was 'Gonta happy he can strong be to protect friends like a gentleman must!'.

On another area, Rias, Akeno, Haineko, Solution, Entoma, and Narberal all went to train under Chisa (the Queen of Joseph's mother). The results were... yeah let's just say that whoever failed their assignments had to clean the stables using their hands, and for those who don't know the stables there had horses that could release something that could easily be used as a chemical weapon.

As for the others, Mukuro received the sacred gear **Star Buster Star Blaster** that she went to test right away and she was falling in love with how practical that gear was for her as the gun and sword could change sizes and formats slightly to accommodates her style, if Joseph were to see her using it he would admit right away that she was probably just as deadly now, if not more, than Peko. Caesar had to go train under Demiurge (the Queen of Joseph's father) in how to better use different gases to obtain more diverse and 'interesting' effects (to who this would be interesting is debatable). Chris trained with the soldiers, practicing while using dummy bullets on how to deal with many enemies without resorting to absolute destruction (she was failing quite badly, which annoyed her making her destroy even more).

In the end, the most normal ones were Leonardo, Kirika, and Shirabe. However, even that was its own type of hell as Leonardo was forced by the girls to watch shows like My Little Poney and others like that just so they could play with the monsters modeled after them. The mental torture was heavy there, especially when the girls made him watch Mahou Shoujo shows.

However, he does admit to having like of one of them in particular. Madoka Magika to be more specific.

The results out of that one was, disturbing, to say the least.

At least the monsters from there were good to make the girls learn how to fight and it helped Leonardo in learning how to produce more varied monsters and to adapt better.

And so, time passed. It was not the time for the match between Rias+Joseph X Riser+?

However, one thing that no one knew yet was who the '?' would be.

* * *

"So, we are in agreement? You will help us win this in exchange for me making the Phenex Tears more easy for you to resell later?" Riser's voice came from the phone;

"Sure, sure, no problems there. It is a pleasure doing busyness with you, remember to help divulge my brand to others you know too." The man said with a happy tone.

"Tch, at least someone between us thinks it is a pleasure to do this business deal. To think that I would need to lower my great self to enter a deal with a lower nobility like you, how insulting to my prestige." Riser said before hanging up the phone without carrying about the man he was talking to.

The man heard it all and could only chuckle, for him this was nothing new. Dealing with ignorant people that belief themselves great due to their blood is something he has been doing since he entered his trade, even if this particular one wasn't quite what he would like to do.

"Hey, are you sure this is fine boss?" A white-haired man in his late forties in appearance asked, he had a cigarette on his lips and a small frown on his face.

"You don't need to worry so much, Lehm. This is just business and I did tell Riser that none of us will raise a finger against my friend himself so he cannot complain no matter what we do." The boss said to his Queen, **Lehmbrick** , also known as Lehm, a former Delta Force agent and a veteran of as many battlefields as he could be. From Iraq to insurgencies in many smaller nations and the Gulf War. Someone who could be called a veteran of one hundred battlefields.

"If you say so, Kasper." He said to his King, Kasper Hekmatyar, a childhood friend of Joseph and one of the people Joseph openly admits to fear and not want to ever fight against if at all possible.

It seems that Joseph will not be getting his wish so easily.

* * *

 **Writer's Note:**

 **I am sorry for only posting this today. I took longer because I had to do a cirurgy these last few days to remove all four whisdom teeth at once and could not think much about anything. I only posted for Sword Magic Knight because I had my beta work in the chapter I've worked on long ago. I hope you guys liked it, leave a comment, and if you are wondering Kasper's peerage is from Jormungand and Lehm is the badass old man from Koko's team.**

 **This rating game will not be nearly as easy as many would believe.**


	43. Chapter 42

This chapter contains lots of offensive words, you have been warned.

* * *

As we entered the waiting room for the match I admit that I am a bit nervous.

Okay, I am a lot nervous. This match not only will define if Rias will be free of her marriage (or if I will have to kill Riser, something that I am honestly tempted to do more times than one), but also if Maria will be my Queen or not.

Heck, if I perform well enough it is expected that the Chaos Brigade to try and approach me. It all hangs on this match.

But, I know that it will all depend on who exactly is the person that Riser will team up will be. If it is someone like his older brother I don't even need to worry about winning since I can just claim that asking for someone on the top10 of the rating games to participate here is too much and if he really wants to proceed I will call my mother to enter too (she was one of the top 10 before Riser's brother entered, if memory serves me right she was number 3 or 4 as it varied with time).

Looking around after entering I saw something that sent chills down my back. If Riser's brother Ruval was bad news then who I am seeing now is only slightly better.

"Joseph! How you doing, are you ready to buy more weapons now?" my friend of a long time and one of the men who scare me the most, Kasper Hekmatyar was right there beside Riser. His white hair and whitish blue piercing eyes looking straight at me as if trying to see on my soul.

SHIT! Why did Riser contact HIM from all people? Not only Kasper knows me well and knows how my peerage works but his peerage are freaking monsters on the battlefield. MONSTERS!

He managed to get only 'normal' humans in his peerage, no special bloodline or sacred gear to speak off, but what they do have is experience in wars on all levels. Heck, his Queen is someone who fought in the Golf war, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somali civil war, and many others. And he still was alive and well with more than fifty years old when Kasper met him and turned him into his Queen, I must try and find a way to not have to face him or this game will become a whole lot more complex than it needs to.

The other members are also as experienced, at least surviving 4 or more wars without any large or debilitating wound to speak off. Those guys are tough as nails and defeating them is far from easy.

But, it still remains true that Kasper is a lower class nobility so he being the one Riser asked should not be possible. For all logic, he should have looked for someone of a higher position in nobility, like Diodora or Zephyrdor Glasia-Labolas, those two other wastes of space that would be just as useful as himself.

Did his brother advised him, or perhaps it was Ravel (The chance of he making this great decision using his limited mind is a bit below zero, after all, to make intelligent decisions you need to able to think and this is an ability I doubt Riser has).

No matter, I just know that things got a whole fucking lot more complicated.

"No, no I don't want any weapon right now Kasper. I am just surprised, I never expected you to have such resistance." I said, making the others be a bit confused. Well, the others with exception of Kasper who probably already understood what I meant but would play along.

"Oh, and why do you say I am resistant? You know that I myself am pretty weak, right?"

"Sure, your body is weak but your nose must be exceptional. I mean, to be able to walk beside chicken fezes and not even frown." With that Riser looked pissed and was just about to try something when he managed to hold himself back somewhat. "Sorry, I mean flaming chicken fezes."

And with that, the temperature of the room raised exponentially as Riser seemed ready to jump at me, but I simply smiled and ignored him completely and went to look for Ravel.

"Wait a second there, you ignorant and stupid son of a whore! I did not give you the authorization to ignore me like this!" Riser yelled in my back, and I admit that I had to hold myself back to not cut him down right here and now for insulting my mother.

She was NEVER a whore or anything of the sort, she is a wonderful, talented, intelligent, and amazing woman that is the best mother I could ever hope to have.

I will hold myself back, for now, as I know that in just a few minutes we will be in the game and it means that I can punch, kick, slice, shock, freeze, burn, torture, decapitate, castrate, and everything else that my heart desires under the excuse of 'had to force him to give up'.

Ignoring his insults I walked to see Ravel who was looking at this without knowing what to do. She was sitting elegantly in a comfortable chair as the others of the peerage were around her.

I bent to a knee so as to be closer to her eye level as I smiled at her and said.

"It is good to see you, my beautiful bride. I am happy that you are healthy and going well."

"Y-you as well, Joseph-sama. I am happy that you are well." She said, mostly out of cordiality as it is custom to answer my sort of introduction this way.

Well, not that the man kneeling for his fiancee like this is that normal in devil culture (most men are chauvinistic jerks who thinks too highly of themselves), but I know that she will like and I also know that she likes knightly stories so seeing me like this is something she once admitted to me that she liked seeing.

"Are you ready to the game?" I asked. "If you feel insecure, you don't have to. I am sure you will be a wonderful opponent Ravel, you are so smart and pretty that anything besides that is simply impossible. Oh, but my side will win anyway so no hard feelings." I said cheekily.

She pouted at my words while the rest of Riser's peerage looked between annoyed and irritated.

One of them being a bit more chatty than most.

"Would you stop your blabbering with your cocksucking hole, you blond-pubes virgin." one of them said, making the others around her even more exasperated than before.

She is a tall young woman with long strawberry blonde hair and two ahoges, she also has icy blue eyes, as well as the rings around her pupils that have an unusual ragged pattern making them appear slightly mechanical-looking. She wears brown goggles with yellow accents on her head. She wears a modified pink sailor school uniform and a matching skirt, her collar noticeably exposing her cleavage, lacking the cover on her chest. She wears black and studded fingerless gloves, with black heeled-boots with gold buttons and buckles on them. She has black straps connected with gold rings attached to her white socks, and over her clothes, gold ring covering her blue ribbon around her collar. She wears a black choker, and two smaller black collars that resemble barbed wire made out of rubber around her neck.

But, most importantly her mouth is dirtier than any sailor when drunk in a whorehouse, so there is no doubt who she is.

She is Miu Iruma, Riser's Queen and possessor of the sacred gear **U** **known Dictator** , a sacred gear with the potential to be a Longinus and a mechanical counterpart for Leonardo's own Longinus as it can create robots, weaponry, and even goes to control electromagnetism so if she trained right she could be a strong person quite easily.

Ravel had told me a bit about her and my own investigation of her was quite detailed so I know how to handle her somehow, let's try it and see if it works.

"And who are you supposed to be?" I asked, a smile spreading on my face as I raised to my feet and look down at her.

"Hah, if you don't know this me you must truly be a dimwit retard as the blond balls over there said you were." Miu said, making everyone, and specially Riser, cringe a bit. "But if you want to know I am the gorgeous girl genius who will revolutionize the entire world with my amazing inventions, Miu Iruma! I am the perfect combination of brains and beauty so you better enjoy when you can fest your eyes on this amazing me."

My smile did not falter much, but I did give a light laugh at what she said.

"W-what? Are you laughing at happiness to finally have met this amazing me?" She asks, but while she still is acting haughty there is some sweet on her forehead.

"Yeah, you are amazing. Even more incredible than I expected." I said, making her regain her arrogant form, but my next words made a bit of a difference. "I did hear that you looked like a cheap whore and had the brains to match, but you manage to prove everyone wrong by being much worse in all aspects. It really is amazing that you still barely is functional as a living being, even though I don't know if calling you intelligent would be right."

And, just like that she basically curled up in a ball with a depressed atmosphere around her.

"Y-you don't h-h-have to be mean." She said weakly.

"Oh, sorry if that is how it seemed." I said. "It was just that I could not help but look down a bit on someone who calls others a virgin when she herself is most likely one instead as I doubt Riser's baby pinky's sized dick if penetrating a woman would even count as sex, perhaps masturbation with the pinky finger would be more appropriate. Hey, is it true that when the man is too pathetic for the woman to even feel anything during penetration even if drugged with the world's strongest aphrodisiac it means that the woman still counts as a virgin? I mean, I can't see any other way for a girl to be in the mood to be with a flaming chicken like that guy, unless she is into bestiality and lots of charity." When I said all that everyone started looking a bit awkward, but I noticed with the corner of my eyes that Riser was just about to explode and Kasper was barely holding himself back from rolling on the ground in laughter.

Well, I guess one more push to leave the bastard just on that sweet spot.

"Oh no, did he rapped you?" I asked, making everyone look at me even more surprised. "He did, didn't he? It is the only logical explanation for you to possibly be with him, he must have blackmail on you, right Miu. Don't worry, I will take care of all this and restore whatever honor you might have had once in your life." I said with all seriousness, while ignoring the sound of people laughing at the background (mostly Lo'lo and some of the guys in Kasper's peerage). I then turned to glare at Riser and said. "Riser, I always knew from the first time I saw you that you were dimwitted, weak, ugly, pathetic in all possible sides, so dumb that comparing you to a door would be an offense to the door, and someone that was a waste of space from day one of your existence, but to go as low as raping others and forcing them to be on your peerage is a new low even for you. Well, not that new of a low since you already was born the lowest class of creature but I guess even you can go well and beyond. BUT, if no one else has ever made you face justice for your wretched ways I will, as I am an ally of justice for this game."

"Buhahahahahaha, please, please stop this Joseph! You are killing me here, hahahahaha." Kasper said as he could no longer hold himself back and started rolling on the ground in laughter, the rest of his peerage and mine were also laughing at all this and especially at Riser's face.

Not being able to hold themselves back anymore one of Riser's knight stood up while pointing her sword at me.

"Bastard. Stop insulting my king this instant or I will have to cut you down right here and now!" Kalarmine (I guess, most of his peerage is just extras as far as I care) said. I simply raised an eyebrow and answered her threat with a slight laugh.

"You? Please, in your entire group there is no one who can count as a threat to me and everyone smart can see that." Yeah, show even more furry and rage.

The more the merrier.

"Bastard, I am going to burn you alive!" Riser said, not being able to hold himself back anymore as he threw himself at me. "Burn, failure of a devil!"

"As if your flames cold even burn anything, they might be just as pathetic as your qualifications to be a man."

His flames exploded in even more power as he made to attack me. I didn't even bother to stop him as a magic barrier descended to stop Riser's attack.

"That should be enough for you two." a voice said as Maou Lucifer entered the room, he had a slight frown on his face so I backed off from all this. Anyway, I already see this as mission accomplished.

It was surprisingly funny, how this simple plan worked out quite easily. If I can make Miu depressed before the match it is possible that she won't be able to act with all of her strength and if she recovers and get furious with me and starts ignoring Riser's orders just to try and hunt me down it will make her easier for me to defeat her.

My worst-case scenario was if she were to hide with Riser the whole game and simply keep creating weaponry and robots from the distance, but if she doesn't work properly or advances herself at me it is all the better.

And provoking Riser was partly because it is fun to provoke him (he is trying to take away a girl that I love, I don't think I am wrong in my actions on the slightest) and mostly because I understand him and Kasper way too much, Kasper would never simply take my words without cracking a smile as this is the sort of situation he loves to see the most (in other words, he loves mayhem and chaos with a dose of humiliation of others) while Riser would explode when he sees this and even if he were to see his 'ally' laughing at this it is quite likely that their collaboration would not work well.

For a plan made on the fly, I suppose it works well enough and might give me some advantages. I then turned back to Ravel who did not know exactly how to react.

"Don't you worry about a thing, let's just enjoy this game between us, okay. Because, in the end, we both know who is gonna win." I said, making her eyes blaze in face of the challenge.

That never be spoken that she is a coward or someone who simply accepts defeat. If anything she is someone who would go head first against anyone challenging her dignity.

"Joseph-sama, I am sure you are right. The best team will win, and that is my team." She said defiantly, acting like the proud phoenix she really was.

I laughed in good humor and said.

"Sure, the best team will win and you are gonna be part of it, in the future." I said before walking out, making her blush slightly.

I then saw that Syrzechs was talking with Rias, he probably came to talk with her and give her some tips. I think it is best not to carelessly approach after all it is a moment between family.

With that being said I went to see my peerage members, especially one of them.

"Leonardo, are you sure you want to participate? You still barely started learning about your powers and your body still isn't quite up there to support prolonged fighting." I said. The kid had surprised me when a few days ago he declared he wanted to participate as well, it was never my intention for him to do this as, while I do want him as a permanent member of my peerage, he still isn't and it is also a fact that he still is inexperienced and a kid who barely started tapping on his potential.

"Yeah, I want to participate in this. I want to see with my own eyes what exactly the supernatural has to offer and how much I still have to grow." He said, making my respect for the brat grow even more.

He truly is headstrong, smart, and someone no one should underestimate. Exactly the type of person who I would like in my peerage permanently.

"...Fine, but you ought to remember that if you ever see yourself in any danger you must not push it. Retire immediately if this happens and always keep something to protect your blind spots, your life is much more important than this game." And I mean it, after all on the worse case scenario I can either challenge Riser for Rias' hand directly or, if this doesn't work, make it so that the flaming chicken suffers some unfortunate 'accident' like dropping head first on a pool of holy water or discovering the involvement between him and some shady and illegal business, with proof of the 'truth' that may or may not be 'discovered' by me.

"Okay, I will try my best." He said, but I am honestly still unsure. He has that determination on his eyes that makes me think he will try to do something incredibly stupid.

Just in case I will keep him close to Caesar with orders to prioritize his safety first and foremost.

I then turned to the others, the game will start in a few minutes and I want to talk and see if everyone is ready.

* * *

3° Person P.O.V.

As Joseph started talking to the others Leonardo continued to observe him, trying to understand this man that was a puzzle as far as he could see. It was like he was someone very simple to understand at one point but at the drop of a hat he turned manipulative or downright evil and cruel.

He wondered which was his true self.

"Heh, stop thinking so much about something stupid, kid." A man said while putting his hand over Leonardo's head.

The boy was surprised and when he turned to look he saw that it was Lo'lo who was saying that while giving a smile.

"You don't have to think too deeply about whatever you are thinking. Just follow your guts and everything will work out in the end." Lo'lo said.

"...Okay." Leonardo said as he decided not to argue with the feral man who could crush steel with his hands as if it was paper.

"Also, you should try not to get too much attention in there. This game is quite important after all." Lo'lo said with a serious face, making Leonardo look confused.

"And why is that?"

"Well, because this game will define if the chick boss wants as queen will accept to turn now or not. He is quite desperate for wining this time around, and he wants the best victory possible so if you get in the way he might get really pissed off." Lo'lo said, making Leonardo nod his head.

What Leonardo didn't understand yet was how much Joseph wanted to win, but Lo'lo and the others did. They had seen many times how Joseph went crazy whenever anything was to get on his way to a show or date with Maria, they saw how he would go to the point of, during one of the demon's invasions, exterminated about 1 thousand demons in a mad rush just to not miss a show, and when he got late by a few minutes he was so pissed that he went ahead and counter-invaded the tribe that sent those devils and, together with his peerage and some soldiers, killed another two thousand demons. All the while screaming how it was retribution as they made him miss the intro of the show.

In other words, getting in the way or doing less than ideal was something that none of the peerage members dared to do. They only felt that they had to do their absolute best and they had to win, otherwise they felt fear for what would happen.

In other words, they will win! There is no other option whatsoever for the peerage of Joseph Barbatus, the number one fan of Maria and a very willing butcher.

Deep inside Lo'lo and a few of the others felt even a bit of pity for Riser as he was in the way, but a few of the others (mainly most of the girls) only felt a sadistic pleasure at all this. He had said more than a few times during the times they saw each other how they should leave Joseph's side and come to work under him as he wanted some maids to 'warm his bed' or something like that.

Perhaps they would ask Joseph to castrate Riser to see if he stops this sort of comments, but then again they doubted it would be effective anyway.

It is hard to cut something so small after all.

* * *

 **Writer's Note:**

 **Sorry for taking longer to post this. I am busy as I was traveling from one side to another all the time here. Also, I apologize if my words during this chapter were more extreme than you would enjoy. It is all part of the strategy, but if you think this is too much I apologize.**


	44. Chapter 43

Me and Rias' peerages were now on the rating game stage.

It was decided that this will be a battle in a replica of a part of Paris as the stage, after all, four teams together in one only stage was too packed if it were for us to face in somewhere like Kuoh Academy.

Also, I am pretty sure that Riser pulled many strings for this stage to be chosen. After all, he is quite used to this place as he comes here many times for 'recreational purposes' (read look for cheap hookers) and Kasper's team is on its perfect field in such urban area. The only place Kasper's peerage would be able to get any better would be on a jungle, but Riser would never step foot anywhere where there wasn't a whorehouse in a 20 kilometers radius (which is ironical since he has his peerage around him so the effect should be about the same).

Well, not like I don't know this place well enough myself. I did come here many times since I was 10 due to my mom's work in the design industry and my own times working on it and the artwork I presented here. I think this just might be one of the cities I know the best in the world, just losing to places like Kyoto, Kuoh, and a few others.

" **This is an announcement to all players, as of this moment the battle will begin on one hour as until then any violence is forbidden. The time pre-match is longer due to the time necessary to move and prepare considering the sheer size of the stage.**

 **"Rias/Joseph's base is on the top of Montmartre, a famous hill of the city present on the north. Riser/Kasper's base is on Moulin Rouge, a famous cabaret of Paris.** " When I heard that I could not avoid a snicker to appear on my mouth. It is a place fitting for Rizer alright.

 **"And finally, I am here to remind everyone that attacking for instantly kill are forbidden and that any injury will be healed upon retiring by our dedicated staff so you all can go crazy as long as you don't kill the opponent outright. Also, this game has at stakes the marriage contract of both Rias Gremory and Ravel Phenex and the winner can decide what to do with them.** **"**

...What? Wait, wait, wait, wait, this was not part of the deal at all!

The deal was for Rias' marriage contract, there was no mention of Ravel anywhere!

Is this because of those who don't approve of my family and want to intervene? I did hear that some of the elders in the council were fearful of the power of my family and that they feared what would happen if my marriage with Ravel happened and the power of my family swelled any more, but this still is too much!

There is no way I would ever agree to a deal where there was even the slightest shadow of a chance of the contract being cut when neither I or Ravel want that. I am not stupid like Riser after all.

Even if this was a bet offered by Riser I would still say no with no hesitation whatsoever, I do not force the life of the girls I like to fit on my own schemes. I would not fall low enough to do this sort of thing, using them like this would make me feel dirty and I refuse on using any loved ones in any of my schemes.

Well, we have one hour to prepare so we might as well start to move so as to deal with this the best way possible.

"Rias, do you have any plans or ideas as to how we should move?" I asked.

"I do, but wouldn't you, as someone who knows this city better, be the most logical choice to do most of the planning?" She asked. I guess that training with my peerage on the steps made her feel a blow to her confidence.

She was surprised by how real fights went there, how bloody and merciless they were and how any mistake could mean death, so now she is hesitant in acting at a moment's notice. I myself went through that, quite worse actually as my first time commanding was to lead a few dozen soldiers on an expedition in the blood sea (it is another point in the limits of the devil territory by the southeast, together with the evil forest on the southwest where many ally and enemies' races of my house live and the Bloodslaughter Steeps on the south) where I was forced into a fight by some sea demons and lost almost half the troops under my command. However, different from Rias I had to go right back to action with my own peerage at the Bloodslaughter Steeps just a few days after.

It was a hard time, and I do not want her to dwell on this thoughts at all. She is more than capable enough, I am sure of it.

"I know, but I trust you and I know you can do this. But, if you really are not sure how about you make the greater plan, like our general movements and stuff like that, while I try and fine tune it and try to take care of anything that can be done better? This way we can both show to those who want to use us for their own gains and control us that neither of us is to be trifled with." I said.

She heard it and instantly looked a bit relieved, but a fierce determination of steel quickly replaced all other minor emotions she was feeling before. She too probably knows that it was never part of the plan for my own marriage to be on the line too and how much of a dangerous thing it is not only for my future but for my whole house if something happens.

Seeing that she realizes how dangerous of a situation we both are she firms her resolve splendidly, good. Now, let's plan how to roast a flaming chicken.

* * *

3° Person P.O.V.

"Onii-sama! Why did you change the rules of this fight?!" Ravel yelled at her brother. She, much like Joseph, knew how important their marriage really was for both houses and she liked Joseph just as much, if not more, than he liked her. She also knew perfectly well that Joseph would never agree to such thing, he was better than that.

And now her brother was interfering in such a brazen and obvious way. It was impossible for her to calm down.

"Calm down, I am just looking out for yours and our house's future." Rizer said giving a poor excuse of an excuse. "If this marriage did happen we would be forced to share some of our precious money and resources with those brutes that only care about killing and raging war instead of upholding the glory and prestige of our glorious race. We would even get associated by extension to some of those inferior races that are only good for being whores and slaves, it would tarnish the name of our family if this did happen. Besides, I don't want to see you dirtying yourself by having to even breath the same air as that insult to true nobility like me and you.

"He isn't even a true devil. He is just garbage that his shitty father forgot to choke when was born due to how stinky he probably was and that the whore he calls mother forgot to throw away as she also isn't worth anything, only true devils should EVER be nobles, he is just a son-of-a-whore."

Again, this was a poor excuse for an excuse.

Rizer, despite having parents and brothers that set excellent examples for how he should act, thought in a way that was closer to the one of some of the older (and dumber) elders and those from the Old Satan faction. It was so much so that he instantly agreed when this proposition was given to him by one such elder that came from the Old Satan faction, the son of the original Satan Asmodeus.

"Brother, you cannot be serious! If anything else the ones to get more of this are us! The military influence and the connection to so many other races, even the capacity of obtaining rare materials that our family doesn't have all hangs on this marriage! If everything goes fine our family will instantly be one of the strongest and most influential out there, so why did you still not understand this! Besides, the Barbatus family is protecting the entire Underworld of the demons and other races for milenia, calling that house this way is tarnishing not them but ourselves for acting lie we are. Also, don't go insulting Joseph-sama this way, he might not be your friend or anything of the sort but saying this is still too much." Ravel yelled, promptly ignoring the fact that Joseph too liked to describe Riser with some 'interesting' choice words.

"ENOUGH! This is already set in stone, we will win this and show the entire Underworld how the mighty Phenex doesn't need the help of useless rable salvages that don't know a thing about how devils should truly be! Besides, we are the strongest as we already are, we are immortal and invincible no matter what so everyone else is bellow is by nature. Besides, they are just weak devils that prefer using swords as if they were barbarians instead of mastering demonic magic and don't have the guts to participate in rating games like any other noble house does." Rizer said, and it was true that those from house Barbatus rarely ever participated in rating games.

After all, they were too busy fighting REAL wars instead of war-like games.

The enemies outside never stopped, just the fallen angels stopped acting on the most part. Demons, demi-humans, and the other hundreds of species outside of the devil territory never stopped trying to invade. The only ones really fighting against it was the house of Barbatus due to its location in the border separating Devil territory and those from the worse races, so they didn't have time for rating games, nobility parties, or most other things considered 'essential' to be a true nobility.

As Ravel heard her brother she, for probably the first time in her life, saw him not for who he was for her but for who he was in general. A self-entitled idiot. He was risking an alliance that might be key to ensuring peace for possibly hundreds of years only to show how 'great' he is, how stupid can anyone be?!

And, it was also at this moment that she made the decision that she would go for Joseph's peerage anyway, staying with her brother like this would only bring bad things for herself in the end. Her talent, intellect, and power would simply be buried by her own brother's foolishness if she stayed with him, that is what her instincts and mind were telling her, especially considering how Riser tried to stop her froom ever training or fighting as she was to be the 'perfect and ideal princess'. Considering that despite rarelly being able to train she still managed to become stronger than him it was hard to grasp how strong she would be now if she were able to train and improve.

As the siblings were fighting the group of Kasper could only shake their heads. They knew this type of person well due to their line of work, the spoiled brat and the dumb were sometimes those who paid the best for the merchandise they had to offer. If, for nothing else, because they had no real idea on how the weapon business worked and would pay way more than the actual price.

But, even so, it was hard to find someone interested in buying weapons in large number and that was also this ignorant on how the world worked. Most of them were normal soldiers, mercenaries, head-hunters, assassins, terrorists, or anti-terrorists until a few years ago so they didn't know anything about the supernatural until then, however, they quickly learned what they had to know about the Underworld's structure and powers and there was a simple consensus to them.

The Barbatus house was a monster. They learned of what they did and do constantly, on how they work and the power of their army, not only in numbers and 'power' but also in actual experience in combat that most devils seem to ignore. It was the opinion of most of them that if the Barbatus house did not have to stop so many enemies by themselves they could probably face most of the other houses at the same time alone and still emerge victorious.

"Boss, are you sure we should be allying ourselves to this guy?" one of Kasper's pawns, Lutz, asked. He was a fair-skinned man on his early twenties with spiky blond hair and blue eyes while having a small scar above his left eye. He was once one of the best snipers on an unnamed police anti-terrorist unit and was deployed against terrorists and hostage-takers. He was the kind of man that could play around while relaxing but when it was time for action he had a laser-like focus. His current record is hitting a coin over 5 kilometers away using his magically enhanced sniper rifle, a Blaser R93 Tactical to be more specific.

"It is fine, it is all fine. He is just a bait for the big fish and his thoughts being like this will only make it all the more useful for us later on." Kasper said with a calm face. He was never fully invested on who would win, he just wanted to make a impression on others and make as many people as possible to look for him to buy his weapons enchanted by his family trait. The Hekymathier family had the special ability to grant magic properties to otherwise mundane materials, making them more effective for a battle since it was easier to obtain mundane materials than rare ones that could be used for traditional magic swords and other such items.

However, the gains of this trade were limited since many looked down on the weapons that his family trait could create. Not only due to the fact that its power was not as explosive as those from traditional armaments but mostly because his family standing is lowly by comparison. What Kasper believed after thinking about it during his very early youth was simple.

'If we can't compete with quality, let's win with quantity'.

And, since he managed to reach an age old enough to manage his family company (that was on excellent state due to a much better management of the Barbatus family than of his late father) he set out to show the capacity of his weapons. He entered on the weapon dealing business since it was much more suited for his powers than the typical swords and arrows (something his late family wouldn't abandon, they were too traditionalists to even begin thinking outside their limiting costumes), and now he stood in the same level of peerage than those monsters of his generation.

However, there were still many who didn't know of how useful his equipment was and that looked down on it. That lack of the necessary amount of buyers made the price too big for the lower class devils that could make the most of his goods, so Kasper thought of a plan.

He would participate in the most attention-grabbing game that he possibly could, and he would make it a show of his own weaponry. If many people see how strong it is there is no way that his sales wouldn't rise, and when they did and he managed to lower his prices enough for the weaker devils to be able to buy it too he knew that his overall status, fame, and fortune would skyrocket explosively.

So, dealing with someone like Riser in exchange of that was not that big of a deal at all. But, he did warn Riser that he would NOT eliminate Joseph at all, in part because the Barbatus family was undoubtedly his biggest and most influential buyer but also because he was friends with Joseph himself. There would be little to gain in actually confronting him.

"Phenex-sama, what do you want me and my peerage to do?" Kasper asked in a fakely submissive voice. He had to please Riser and be seen as someone strong but that knew his 'place' as many older devils, RICH older devils, like this type of person more.

This was a sales pitch, after all.

"Huh, you all can do as you want. I will simply stand here and crush underfoot that filthy blooded bastard and enchant my beloved Rias with my magnificence!" Riser said conceitedly. Most of his peerage started fawning over him as the fangirls they were, the only exceptions being Miu and Ravel. Ravel because she had decided to stop 'holding his hand' and leading him to a not so stupid path, while Miu was simply uninterested.

She was never even into Riser or slept with him either, she was only interested in showing off her 'babies' and his financial support was too good to pass on. Besides, Miu was always closer to Ravel than Riser, after all, she preferred intelligent conversations instead of Riser's advances.

As Miu was about to say something a hand touched her shoulders suddenly.

"Miss Iruma, I would like to talk to you about a possible partnership for this game." Kasper whispered on her ears quietly. She felt a chill running down her back as she heard that, and especially when she saw Kasper's handsome and elegant face so close to hers.

"HEY, don't go touching my property, butch as she may be!" Riser yelled, making Miu roll her eyes. She was an independent woman and she liked being respected, even fawned over, but not to be treated as an object (even though many thought otherwise considering her usual sexual fantasies and how she liked some erotic stories about extreme BDSM, master-servant relationship, and things like that).

"Oh, don't worry. I was just talking to her that her expertise could be of use on this battle if united with my own family trait." Kasper said with a smile.

"Humph, do as you please as regardless of how you do it I can win this game by myself at any moment." Riser said. In actual fact he was planning on standing right there as his peerage surrounded him as he would rather be fawned by his peerage/harem than thinking of this game that he was 'destined to win' or about those weaker than him (that for him was everyone out there).

Seeing this Kasper indicated for Miu to follow him, the two had much to talk about.

Not long after Kasper's peerage moved, they were to be positioned on many corners of the city as 'first line of defense' while Riser's peerage minus Miu was to stay close to him to 'protect him', even though the real reason is that he wanted to continue being served by them and feeling them up.

Again, this whole thing was being shown to most of the Underworld elite.

A pervert idiot will be a pervert idiot.

Meanwhile, Joseph and Rias' strategy was decided, they would move in a way to guaranty the best way of acting possible. Of course Joseph had his own considerations to make and some more specific orders to his peerage members, all for the sake of winning the right way.

And now

" **GAME START!"**


	45. Chapter 44

As the sound of the match starting the first move from Joseph and Rias' side was not to rush forward instantly. Instead, Caesar and Lo'lo moved together.

Lo'lo was standing in front of Caesar as he did not fear most of anything thanks to his absurd natural endurance, the rook piece, and more recently the addition of the sacred gear **Sturdy Saint**. Honestly speaking even Joseph admitted that to even scratch Lo'lo now he would need to use a large amount of power and with his sword released.

And even so there was no certainty, he was just that tough.

Meanwhile, Caesar was using him as a shield due to knowing how there was likely some snipers trying to aim right at his head. But, Caesar's abilities are of primordial importance if the plan was to work.

Putting his hands forward Caesar started releasing a wave of smoke and mist everywhere. It wasn't quick to do it and the cost of energy was quite high, to be honest, so it was an ability close to useless in actual regular combat. However, this was not a real fight, it is a game and as such Caesar was made to use this skill.

It was like everything was quickly covered in a mantle of white, the vision from the distance got too terrible for anyone to see too far.

Well, even so, things did not go quite as smoothly as Rias' side wanted.

Not long after the white gas covered the field a bullet hit Caesar's side from far away, it was precise to the point that it hit from more than a kilometer away and passed on the space between Lo'lo's arm and body. An impossibly narrow space from an impossibly far away point.

They even accounted for how Lo'lo's instincts would react to bloodlust and instead of shooting to kill the shot was made in such a way that it did not hit anywhere fatal. However, the bullet in itself had the tip covered with a paralyzing poison that could take down a whale with only a tenth of a milligram and the tip had about 10.

" **Joseph Barbatus, 1 Pawn retired** "

* * *

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Loud, boisterous laughter filled the Phenex main base as the owner of the laugh, Riser, observed what had happened through a Magic Circle. He saw everything from start to finish, up to the elimination of one of that 'abomination's Peerage members. The phenex Devil say snugly in a velvet chair, one leg crossed over the other like some evil mastermind whilst a hand had smacked itself onto his forehead. All around him, were his Peerage Members, and each of them had varying levels of smug satisfaction on their features.

"Ahhhh, serves that Abomination right! He's nothing but a worthless idiot who sacrifices even more useless pawns to get anywhere in life! To not even have a pawn that could take a hit as small as that, it makes me laugh at how weak he truly is!" Riser exclaimed, sitting up as he calmed down from his laughter, although his uneven breathing still persisted for a few more minutes. To be frank, the man hadn't expected much out of that abomination during this rating game, not with the help that Ravel had been so gracious enough to provide (though if anyone asks, he'll take the credit to make himself look good). Their resume looked pretty good, for some Devil who only knew how to use some mere iron toothpicks, but they wouldn't amount to much in the Devil society which is focused mostly on Magic and older fashioned combat. Even so, seeing what he had seen just now, as well as hearing the confirmation from Grayfia, it all but cemented it in his mind:

That Joseph Barbatus would lose and he'd have his bride all to himself.

On the side however, Ravel looked on, hiding her internal emotions from view less she be singled out by one of the other Peerage Members. Outside, she looked exactly as how Riser had expected her to be: composed, meek and all ladylike with her hands in front of her and crossed over like the perfect example of how a noblewoman would act at an important event. She had this composed air about her, and if she were to be alone right now, she would have let this facade drop instantly whilst her mind would be buzzing with calculations regarding what she had seen. She WAS a strategist after all.

On the inside however, she couldn't help but be even more disappointed with Riser than she already had become. Not only did he demean the enemy side without even understanding what had happened, but he also failed to see the bigger picture and why things had happened the way they did. That pawn, before being knocked out of the game, had successfully covered the battlefield in a smokescreen, making it increasingly difficult to navigate unless one has had specialized training. Something not many Devils did. Not only that, but it also served to make their lives, since they hardly knew this place or its layout beyond the map they were provided with, exceedingly more difficult. Compared to them, their allies in Kasper's team would have more of a chance in this fight due to their experiences with war, which would also make them look better in the eyes of so many influential people watching this Rating Game. Which makes this pawn's sacrifice not as damaging to the enemy as what Riser would believe.

To the enemies it was a calculated loss, for Kasper's team it was just an incovenience that would not matter as they just want to show off their weapons and how useful they can be, and for Riser's peerage it means a lot of problem since the enemy is taking the lead in this battle, something that could prove deadly as far as she knows.

Which was why she slowly felt more and more confident about her choice of potentially joining Joseph's Peerage to be all the more attractive. What Joseph had done, amongst the countless things he did against her brother, showed her that out of the two of them he was the better leader. Something she didn't doubt, since that guy had more experience on the front lines than Riser, who only attended parties and Rating Games ocasionally, ever could. On the flip-side, Riser slowly but surely lost more and more respect from his little sister, and the birdbrained oaf looked so damn pleased with himself that he didn't even notice.

But, what happened next shut his mouth easily.

" **Kasper Hekmatyar's 1 pawn retired** "

* * *

Turning back to right after Caesar was taken down Joseph was looking at the whole situation with a face that was a mix of annoyed and happy.

In part he was annoyed because Caesar was taken down too quickly, he hoped that Lo'lo would be able to defend him but it seems like Lutz was too good a sniper for that.

On the other hand, this was also within his expectations. He even wanted to see someone take the shot after Caesar showed up as now he could eliminate a dangerous element from the game stage.

"You got him?" Joseph asked while looking at one of his girlfriends/pawn. She was laying down on the ground and looking through a scope while looking at somewhere far away.

Mukuro did not bother to answer, she simply steadied herself before pulling the trigger.

BANG

And so she mercilessly shot Lutz while he was trying to escape, the shot hitting him right in the but and also carrying a similar type of poison to fully incapacitate him to move. Even though there was an echo saying 'why my but again!?' before Lutz disappeared.

" **Kasper Hekmatyar's 1 pawn retired** "

As he heard that Joseph relaxed somewhat. Joseph knew that in Kasper's team there were two people that were especially proficient in sniping others, Lutz the Pawn and Lehn the Queen, so walking in the streets without cover was too big of a risk. Lutz was more troublesome since he would definetly be used as a sniper, but Lehn was more capable and as such must be guarding Kasper as the guy probably is hiding far away and not really interested in winning this.

These two were amongst the most dangerous elements to deal with, and as such Joseph propose this plan to Rias. She was not too happy for this possibly sacrificing strategy, but leaving a sniper to do as he pleases for too long may cause them to lose half the pieces before they could take him down and this is still a positive estimative.

Deciding to use smoke and mist was in part to make it harder for others to see but most importantly it was to make sure that the path the bullet would take would be that much easier to follow for Mukuro.

Now, without having to deal with a sniper anymore, the second phase was ready to be launched. For that one they needed to make sure that no bombs would be getting to them and, for that, they had exactly the person for it.

"Leonardo, Entoma, this part is up to you two. Gonta, you have to protect them well." Joseph said with Leonardo and Entoma nodding and Gontahitting his chest with a big smile on his face.

It was decided that most of the others would move out to attack, but before they would leave they would have Entoma create as many insects and Leonardo as many monsters (mostly pokemons) to take the lead and the brunt of the damage for the traps and explosives the enemy may try to set up as well as identify the locations of all targets and relay them to Joseph.

The problem is that they had to maximize the number of creatures so most of the energy from both Entoma and Leonardo would be spent in this and they would not be able to move or defend themselves properly, so it was decided that Gonta would stay back to protect the two inside the base.

Meanwhile, Mukuro would also stay back around the base to shoot anyone that showed up, Koneko would be guarding outside with her sense of smell as extra security against possible enemies using optic camouflage, something Joseph knew Kasper likely har already developed.

Rias and Joseph would stay back as well as Asia and Issei, Joseph would leave to go rescue whoever needed healing as Joseph would travel to whoever needed before returning back to base, he was the fastest in a straight line after all and to be fair no one from the other side could defeat him in a swift enough fashion that the rest of his peerage would be unable to help.

Also, due to the healing properties of his blood, he would be able give first-aid to anyone wounded before taking them to Asia for a more proper healing if needed.

Issei would stay in the back as it was decided that the best they could do with him right now was to have him accumulate his BOOST and use TRANSFER to Asia whenever someone wounded appeared. The key was making her heal anyone that might need emergency and more profund treatment faster to ensure they could go back to fight.

It was the strategy decided to deal with the situation at hand as good as possible, and to be fair it was a strategy founded based in simply countering Kasper to the best of their skills. He was the only really troublessome one as far as Joseph was concerned, even if he was sure that if only Joseph walked right to Riser's base Kasper would not stop him in the slightest, the weapon merchant would not trully risk damaging the relationship between himself and his best client.

Meanwhile, Joseph was having to deal with a bigger headache than the battle going on. That being an sleepy dragonness that was laying down in his lap and trying her best to try and not sleep away.

"Come on, Phi-chan. You have an important role to do in this fight, you must help protect this base, you can't go to sleep now." Joseph said while trying to keep Phillufy awake.

It was not going well.

Phillufy was his familiar and as such could participate in the game as well, and she was an ace in the hole for the team's victory as she was extremely powerful, but the problem lay in how she was too sleepy today.

Maybe the fact that half her genes came from Midgardsormr (the sleeping dragon king) may have to do with this, she was someone that could fall asleep at the most inconvenient of times such as this one. She even once decided to take a nap right during one of the battles to protect Barbatus territhory and Joseph had to go and save her from being captured!

Joseph could only pray to Satan that when the time for her to go arose she would be awake by then, and especially that she wouldn't do something completely unexpected and 'out of script'.

Okay, maybe a combination of the sleeping dragon king and the Chaos karma Dragon king Tiamat may have produced a troublesome existence, it still didn't change the fact that Joseph loved this girl anyway.

"Muunnyyaahh~~~" Phillufy said as she started munching on Joseph's shirt while sleeping, having lost the battle against nature.

"Sigh, okay, go rest a while but later you better work well for the shirt you are ruining." Joseph said to Phillufy, even though it was dubious that she even heard it to begin with, or if she would do any actual work. She always just fdid what she wanted to do, which was troublesome for Joseph. But, she still was someone he loved and he would not force her to do anything she didn't want to.

* * *

in the field one individual separated from everyone else. His objective was being the 'tip of the spear' as he was to be the furthermost person of the group advancing directly towards where Riser was.

His pink hair and scar on his face did nothing to diminish the appearance of absolute joy on his face as Lo'lo ran wild, he knew that the fastest way is a straight line and he wanted to put his fist in Riser's face since the said devil called him 'pink dog that is proof of devil superiority over other species'.

Yeah, not the smartest thing to tell to Lo'lo, someone who was proud of who and what he was. As Lo'lo continued to run something caught his attention.

No one was attacking him.

"Weird, why is no one attacking me." Lo'lo said, right before a laser hit where he was.

If it was not for him jumping to the side due to his instincts honed during many life and death fights this attack could have caused some damage, even with his new sacred gear ensuring than anything bellow Ultimate class devils could not defeat him.

"That is as far as you can go for now." A voice said from very up above.

Turning to look at the newcomer Lo'lo saw that it was a robot. mechanical body structurally engineered to, in shape, resembles a human being. His body is mostly made up of metallic, armored plating, not wearing actual clothing, but resembling a gakuran, a school uniform worn by male high school students. He has four glowing buttons that run from his chest to his stomach down the middle of his torso, a metallic left breast pocket, and something that resembles a belt around his waist, two red buttons attached.

His face has very pale skin. His eyebrows press closely to his round, mechanical blue eyes, making it appear that his brows are a part of his eyes. Thick black lines run from around his eyes and down his cheeks to reach his chin. He has white hair that is very sharp and swayed to the left, along with the very large ahoge on the top of his head.

As Lo'lo saw this he could only smirk. He knew that normally any machinery could not hope to wound his body but this guy felt strong and this was more than reason enough to be happy.

Lo'lo loved to fight the strong.

"Heh, and who are you?" Lo'lo asked.

"My name is K1-B0, but you can call me Kibo. I am the ultimate robot made by my creator Miu Iruma the self-proclaimed ultimate inventor." The robot, now named Kibo, said with a serious face. "I was requested with stopping and eliminating you as you are a great threat to my creator, and the thing she calls master for mostly financial reasons."

As Lo'lo heard this he simply exploded in laughter, he was liking this thing more and more by the second. Strong enough to be a challenge AND with a sense of humor enough to roast that fried chicken? He was already a chill guy as far as Lo'lo was concerned.

"Heh, fine then. Try and stop me machine thingy!" Lo'lo yelled, jumping right at Kibo.

Kibo flew at him while saying his answer.

"This is highly offensive, you robophobe person!"

* * *

At another point of the town, Kiba was running together with Peko. Kiba wanted to talk to her somewhat, but she summarily ignored any tentative of communications as she simply didn't see the point of talking to him.

Something that was highlighted by how he kept pestering her and how he more than once during training tried to declare himself to her.

To be fair, the only reason as to she not cutting him down for pestering her after she told him more than once (it was closer to a dozen times really) that she was NOT interested was because: A - she knew that if she talked or acted in too big of a fashion it was possible that her master would know and if that happened Kiba would disappear from the world VERY fast, which could cause a rift between Joseph and Rias and that was something Joseph would not like; and B - she knew that if she reacted she might end up cutting Kiba down a peg with her sword and she did not want to dirty her sword with, if someone asked her truest thoughts, a 'little emo bitch blood'.

But damn if she didn't want to cut him down.

He was, even now, trying to talk something to her while complementing her or something, but the more she heard the more the idea of cutting him down seemed attractive. Mostly because she only liked or wanted compliments by her master/boyfriend so hearing it from others was more of a nuisance than anything else.

But, then again, she might have gone and done something bad when she told him once in the past how she defeated two users of Excalibur singlehandedly and without breaking a sweat (Irina and Xenovia were not that good with those blades, and to be fair neither ever stood a chance against Peko). It was equaly possible that he was only interested in getting her to help him destroy the holy blades, but after he tried talking to her once she simply translated any words he said as noise.

BANG

A magic bullet was shot, hitting Peko on the side before she could properly react. Thankfully she had skills honed enough for her to move away and instead of a shot in an important organ it was only one scratch, but it was already one too many for her.

Still, getting a jump at her was not easy and as she evaded the shot she moved to behind a dumpster on the street. Kiba moved closely behind, creating a wall of demonic blades to defend himself as he moved.

When the two were there Peko put her sword on the side and used its metallic surface she saw who was shooting. It was a pair of males, one being Japanese with glasses and mostly casual clothing under many military pieces of equipment, the other was a big guy with brown clothing and looking like he was made out of muscles and was using a Gatling gun.

Another fight was about to go down here.

* * *

Meanwhile, more and more groups were facing each other, the only thing people noticed of strange is how most of Riser's peerage wasn't even IN the field.

The only ones fighting out there from Riser's peerage are Miu, his Queen, and Yubelluna, one of his bishops (who was currently facing Akeno while Chris is on the back waiting as a back-up in case she was needed).

As the VIPs watching wondered what was going on they saw in the monitors how most of Riser's peerage was servicing him instead of fighting. There was one giving him a shoulders massage, another giving him grapes, one with wine for when he was thirsty, the twins were massaging his feet while the two catgirls were massaging his tighs, so on and so forth.

It was something that made most of those who actually had power and to fight their way to it to shake their heads and look down on Riser and the Phenex house as a whole, while those who never really had to work and could simply live a life of nobility with no worries (read most of the high nobility) gave nods of approval. For them what Riser was doing is correct, he was a noble and as such should behave like so, why work hard if there are others he can pay to do it for them?

Well, those were the same frivolous types that were prone to betray each other at a moment's notice and they never have much influence or actual political or true power anyway so their opinion wasn't important for one red-haired devil who had received the title of Lucifer and was a bit beyond displeased by this display. If THIS is what should marry his baby sister (that for him is the cutest little thing in the world) then he might have to pull some strings to deal with this situation, the only question for him is if his sister are to lose who exactly he should set up to challenge Riser to get his sister free.

Joseph might work, he definetly has the power and influence necessary for that, but he was someone who Syrzechs has no control over and his schemings run too deep to even know what he wants half the time. Sairaorg would also be acceptable, but he feared that if they were to be together they would create childreen who are too much Bael and the influence of house Bael over house Gremory was already too great to comfort. Well, maybe the red dragon emperor then? He was motivated and simple enough to control as his desires are easy to understand (read, BOOBS), so he might work. It would at least be more easy for the Lucifer to ensure he would always have a final say on most of his dear little sister's decisions, she would always remain as his little sister first and foremost.

Well, this was just a question for after the game and a mere possibility. the only thing that mattered is that no matter what Rias would NOT marry that wastrel that is nowhere near good enough for his baby sister. But in all sincerity, Syrzechs doubted there would be anyone to be her match, she was just so cute!

* * *

In the game dimension Kasper was enjoying some beer while watching the fight going on in the town VERY far from him, and by that, I mean that he relocated himself to be as far away and in an as inconspicuos place as possible. He had no fighting power of himself, he was as weak as weak goes and as such would be more of a liability than anything else if he was anywhere close to the front lines. He didn't really care about winning, he knew that it would put a bad taste on the Barbatus house if he did and if his sells dropped because of it then it would not be worth it.

Instead, he simply stood back and ordered most of his peerage to show off his weapon's might. He was so calm that even when he heard of how one of his pawns was taken down he was still not worried. If anything he simply did not mind as at least he showed how great his sniper rifle was and how it could take down someone as troublesome as Caesar easily, a trade-off that was more than worth it.

The most interesting one he saw during this game was Miu Iruma, the Queen of Riser and someone that was highly interesting. Not only was her power of creating machines a great match for his own natural powers of enchanting things to give them magic properties she also had a fun personality that was perverted and easy to tease. Maybe he would try approaching the Phenex family to try and make some sort of deal or outright transfer her to him, the money to do such a thing would not be cheap but the results could be quite great.

Well, Ravel Phenex was a close second, with the others meaning nothing or even less. The blond girl was obviously smart, the few words he managed to exchange with her about strategy and she was obviously extremely capable in it, so much so that if possible he would like to hire her as an assistant or at least secretary, before her brother said 'Stop wasting time with the plebeian scum. His purpose is to fight for me and yours is to be cute as you are, and that is it! Enjoy my presence, the one of a glorious Phenex! I am sure that this is better than to talk about silly things like strategy anyway.'

Well, not like Riser's words meant anything at all for Kasper. If anything it just meant that he was a dumb client with full pocket and no real idea of what he was doing, the perfect type for someone to take advantage off. Besides, for Kasper, it didn't matter how his client acted or what he said, as long as the positive things he could get were above the negative ones then everything was fine. The thing he cared the most was money, everything centered and was focused on exactly that.

Money.

Glory, honor, respect, or status didn't mean much for Kasper. If he had money than everything was fine, this was his nature as a weapon's dealer.


	46. Chapter 45

At this point in time, two women are fighting in the air. Akeno was facing off against Yubelluna, and the match was close.

Akeno was having a hard time since her enemy as her attacks were mostly blocked by explosions that were happening nonstop.

"Arara, you really want to blow up everything here, don't you? Shouldn't you be a bit more elegant?" Akeno said while launching a new thunder attack at Yubelluna.

Said purplette simply smiled as she created a magic barrier in front of herself and followed it up by creating explosions near Akeno who hastily created a magic barrier to protect herself.

"I AM elegant, and bustier than you." She said while cupping one of her own breasts who nearly spilled out of her hand due to how big they are, it was likely that the most magical thing she did during her entire time is not flashing her nipples the entire time while having breasts of that size and using such risky clothes. "Than again, you are just some abandoned crow that was caught by Riser-sama's fiancee due to pity."

THAT was a bit way beyond what Akeno could take. She had serious issues due to her race and relation with her father and whenever someone talked about her heritage on her father side the results were rarely any good.

Case in point, Akeno's face got all flustered and thunder started cracking all around herself before she launched herself at Yubelluna without a second thought, putting her all into attacking while forgetting all there was to know about defense or her surroundings.

A BIG mistake as a magic shot that hit her shoulder would prove.

With blood sticking out of her shoulder she backed off while Yubelluna looked somewhat surprised before turning to a building down bellow and said.

"I thought you were supposed to be a professional, is this all a human scum can do?" the sneer and mocking clear in her voice and actions.

In the said building is a dark-skinned North American man with close-cropped hair and five earrings, with three hoops in his left ear and two studs in his right. He was a veteran of the Gulf War, was taught by the best during the military academy where he received all honors as an exceptional talent and is an expert into explosions in general. His name is Willina Nelson but everyone just calls him Wiley.

"Sorry, I don't know what happened. I mean, the weapon's shot was weird no matter how I see it." Wiley answered while looking at his gun. It wasn't the most powerful gun of his team, but it should not be possible for something like that to happen at all.

"Well, it was just bad luck after all." A voice said from behind Wiley, startling the man as he jumped towards the person in reflex with a knife to cut the enemy down, but said enemy apparently had tripped in nothing just before and as a result evaded the deadly strike.

The person, in this case, is Komaeda Nagito, the mutated Bishop of Joseph and the possessor of Telos Karma the Longinus that controls luck.

Said Komaeda was laying in the floor without much worry even as Wiley changed the knife direction and went to stab downward directly towards his heart. The reason as to why he was not worried? It is quite simple really, there was another person there who had something to say about it, someone who was looking at this with a displeased face as she created a magic barrier to stop the knife from reaching Komaeda.

Said barrier only lasted for a moment, but that was enough for Komaeda to get out of the knife's way.

"Sigh, why did you appear like that you vermin?" Narberal said to the smiling Komaeda.

Komaeda continued to smile as he answered.

"Simple, I just wanted to talk to someone who is amazing enough to teach a girl as incredible as Mukuro, someone who can only be called the Ultimate Soldier." He then turned to Wiley and said. "Please, show me how great you can be, how amazing someone who can teach an ultimate talent really is! I want to see and experience the type of hope you carry that could teach other talents to improve."

Suddenly, Komaeda's eyes started turning even more crazy as if it was showing the deep lunaticism and malice he carried inside himself.

Seeing the way Komaeda's eyes were Narberal decided that it would be safer to get as far away from there as possible, it was likely that he was activating his sacred gear in some twisted and weird way. Looking at the state of his eyes Narberal felt even more clearly that he might be one tiny step away from a Balance Breaker and who knows how strong that would be or how terrifying it might be in effect.

A sacred gear is connected to the emotional state of the user and evolves following it, and considering how Komaeda was then his Balance Breaker just might be completely insane and enough to be requlified as top-class Longinus.

* * *

On another point of the battlefield, Peko was fighting off both members of Kasper's peerage. It was pretty annoying since she couldn't quite get to them due to the heavy fire she was under, and how she got a 'deadweight' to take care of.

Kiba was a somewhat decent fighter for his level, meaning that, for peerages of young devils with no true experience, he was a decent enough fighter. The problem was that he had barely any experience with actual fights to the death and much less against firearms, making him decide to try to do something stupid like run head first against them in hopes of evading all bullets due to his agility.

News flash, not even two seconds later and he had been shot once in the leg and twice in the torso. If not for Peko pulling him away from the line of fire he would be swiss cheese by now.

"That is not the right way to fight! A fight should be an open and direct business with-"

And that was as far as Peko heard since she outright ignored everything else he said as background noise.

She was considering how to better deal with this situation, one idea would be to try and go through the buildings to catch them unprepared, but that was a stupid idea since she had no doubt they had rigged the buildings to blow up if someone were stupid enough to enter.

There were a few other options, the most promising being using Kiba as a meatshield to approach the enemies and deal with both of them, but she knew it would not work, despite how much he wanted to give it a shot. The bullets had too big a penetrative force, the chance of her getting injured now was too big and she had other things to take care of such as helping her master deal with Riser.

She started getting impatient but it was then that help arrived in the form of Joseph coming flying in as a literal thunder. He changed his path to fly towards both pawns, he took a few shots but in the end, he did not care since he tackled the ground where they were as if a meteor. They managed to jump and escape the instant danger, throwing two magic stun grenades to paralyze Joseph for a second, only to it not to work since Joseph already had finished preparing his magic attacks even before he reached there, two big magic circles aiming at both pawns, releasing two blasts of pure energy that launched both of them far.

" **Kasper Hekymathier's 2 Pawns, retired**."

"Phew, this could have been worse." Joseph commented as he looked around. He had seen the situation Peko was and while he did trust she would win regardless it could take a long time since both pawns from Kasper were strong and experienced fighters and as such could keep her in check for far too long. He wanted her to take care of most of Riser's peerage since they would be much 'easier' to deal with and she was much better prepared to deal with them than with gun users.

Turning to Peko and Kiba the boy was holding onto his leg that was injured while Peko went to her knees to bow.

"I am so sorry for making you spend your time to help me, I sincerely apologize." She said, making Joseph shake his head tiredly. She was always like this, far too worried about 'small stuff', it was a shame that both were headstrong people that refused to accept the words the other said completely.

Joseph would never accept looking at Peko as merely a servant and tool while Peko would never accept looking at Joseph as if an equal.

Sighing Joseph decided to later on after the match to give Peko the 'punishment' she desires.

Walking towards Kiba Joseph cut his wrist and let some blood fall onto him, healing his body of the injuries near instantly.

'Note to self, try to get myself to Balance Breaker because using my blood to heal is disgusting no matter how I see it' Joseph thought in his head.

Turning to the two he gave the next orders.

"You two are to move ahead in the path Lo'lo opened. He is probably finishing his fight by now and you two are to eliminate any stranglers or anyone that manages to escape Lo'lo. If you reach Riser's peerage eliminate them all, but give Ravel the chance to remove herself before attacking her, but if she reacts and tries to attack do not hesitate to defend and counter attack her, she has her regeneration abilities so it should be alright even if she does take damage. If you can attack Riser remember the target you should keep aiming at." Joseph said only for Kiba to look a bit embarrassed and Peko to say the specific target without a shred of remorse or embarrassment.

"Aim for the balls and turn him into a eunuch, I know."

Griming with ferocity Joseph gave her a quick kiss as he answered.

"And that is why I love you."

* * *

In a separate part of town, another fight had just broken out. One of the sides was composed of two people being one a is a fair-skinned woman with light brown hair and brown eyes, she has tinted rose sunglasses perched on her head and a whole lot of enchanted knives in her person, the other is a slim, fair-skinned man with short dark hair, his most distinguishing features are the two large diagonal scars on the left side of his face. The are Mildo the knight and Lu the pawn, both belonging to Kasper, they used to work for a weapon's dealer that worked only in the most dangerous waters in the entire world and still lived only due to the proficiency of his bodyguards.

These two were currently in a dire pinch since their compatibility against the enemy was downright terrible. That being because the enemy facing them is none other than Haineko. The reason why it was such a bad compatibility?

Because her sacred gear was almost as absurd to deal with by them as Lo'lo's. Her ability to control wind to attack as if blades may not seem all that strong at first since it was a fact that there were many magic out there that could do just the same, but hers was special in that she could create as many as she wanted and protect herself well using them as well. And that was exactly what she was doing since all bullets were being cut down with terrible precision before the two enemies were also attacked by her.

Mildo was dealing with this better since she was using her magic knifes to protect herself but Lu was much worse, he could not protect himself nearly as well and he was already cut more than 20 times by now.

Just as both were thinking that they would definetly lose help came to them in the form of a Chinese woman with blue eyes and an absurdly high specs. It was to the point that she could avoid ALL the wind blades that Haineko was launching at her from sheer instinct as she kept pressing forward, two handguns with blades attached in her hand as she started pressuring Haineko.

CUT

For the first time since she started fighting during this game Haineko was injured as she jumped to avoid a more deadly damage from the gunblade user.

"Not bad old la..." Haineko was saying until she noticed where exactly she was cut, it was right in her face. Thoughts about ruining her beauty and possibly making Joseph dislike her, that she might go back to that scary mansion where people hurt her so much, thoughts about everything of bad that could happen started flooding her mind. It must be said that she was the one amongst Joseph's entire peerage with the second biggest mental damage due to her childhood (only loosing to Komaeda on that front), it could be said that she was never too far away from snapping if given the right incentives, and hurting her face just like her previous 'master' did so many times during her youth?

Yeah, that was a HUGE no, no.

"I WILL KILL YOU BITCH! **Balance Breaker: Rage of the Wind Beast!** "

With that the handle in her hand exploded around in her hand, her body was covered in a green colored wind and as it covered her the wind started solidifying around herself, turning her from her normal form to a different figure entirely. It was an 8 meters tall monster cat with two tails and looking like he was made of fire despite it being purely concentrated energy and wind.

As the monster cat turned to the new addition it smirked before roaring and launching a torrent of wind that annihilated everything in front of it. Buildings, street, trees, people, everything and anything was blown away instantly as its eyes shined in pure glee as it saw that the enemy that hurt it was still in the game. She had deployed a shield in front of herself, but even the shield barely manage to black enough damage for her not to lose instantly.

Not that it mattered since the monster cat/Haineko just raised its claw before pressuring it on the enemy.

" **Kasper 1 Pawn, 2 Knights, retired**."

Haineko smirked when she heard this, she knew she was ordered not to reveal her power to this level, something most of Joseph's peerage was ordered as he wanted to make sure that the enemies would evaluate them highly but not high enough that they might avoid the fight. But fuck it, she would NOT allow anyone to hurt her pretty face and get out scot-free.

She did this way too much and for far too long when under the command of her previous master, never again.

Seeing as she already blew her cover she might as well go and destroy the things around, make it seem like she has no control to make her master/boyfriend's future enemies less warry of her. He would obviously retire her but that was fine for her since victory was never in question anyway.

She was a good kittie after all, not like that black haired delusional skank that thinks with her tiny brain that she was the hottest cat around.

* * *

In the viewing area the great names of devil society were enjoying the show, commenting on it like if it was a simple game between kids, something bellow them completelly.

"That surprised me, I did not expect that cat-girl to have such transformation."

"I agree, senator Paimon, I also never expected a child to have such an interesting toy like that cat. If trained right she might even become a high-level one day. Perhaps I could see to it that the Barbatus child transfers it to my heir, he did comment on how he liked cats not long ago so he might enjoy playing with this one."

"I am not so sure, senator Abbadom. It seems like she isn't capable of controlling herself in this form, if something were to happen to your heir because some stray cat acted out it would mean a huge loss to the whole of devil society. It is better to let the monster to the Barbatus clan, only those barbarians would ever consider such being as a peerage member."

"I suppose you are right, besides I could always just go to the Shinto Pantheon and take some of the nekomatas there as gifts, not like those ignorant pests would ever think of protesting against our noble race. Hohohoho."

"You are absolutely brilliant, dear senator, hohohoho."

And these kind of talks were playing all over the area, making Alexius Barbatus to get a bit too irritated, something indicated by how his familiar was also starting to react and Alexius was trying less and less to reign him in.

Well, he still held the dog back but the thought of making these 'superior' devils face his doggie was enticing, after all, his familiar was a previously mindless demon that was equal to a mid-class god and by now he only grew stronger. It was to the point that asking who would win between his familiar and something like Fenrir was hard to say.

However, it was then that things changed again, this time by no one else except Lo'lo with his display of what a 'inferior' being could manage.

* * *

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

The whole field instantly erupted into chaos like two titans colliding, with laser beams, explosions and the like occupying everything and taking away all visibility within. Those sounds filled the air with their presence, utterly dominating the atmosphere like an animal standing victorious over its defeated prey. Not somewhere any normal civilian, nor any normal fighter would last very long in. It would not be all that different from a war zone in some of the more chaotic countries in the world, or in some of the ancient battles past.

Not like the occupants could give a damn when their top priorities were to rip each other a new one.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

'This guy's seriously getting on my nerves...' the scarred man thought, a scowl soon forming on his features as he tilted his body from side to side, almost like he was dancing as he avoided each laser blast.

This machine thingy opponent of his, while definitely one of the 'strong' he loved to fight, now that he had a chance to fight him for real, also fell into the annoying one.

Kibo, the robotic being made by Miu Iruma, had jet-like wings protruding from his back. These Wings continuously spewed out energy like the roaring engines of a jet going at full speed as he circled around the battle zone. He aimed his right arm, which had taken the form of a cylindrical Energy Cannon which constantly let out a barrage of energy blasts in Lol'lo's direction. Though, he didn't just circle around as he flew throughout the entire airspace above the field. His strategy seemed to be to keep Lol'lo at a safe enough distance, using his air superiority advantage to launch ranged shots at him. For the most part, the strategy was working, as Kibo had the upper hand in terms of agility and freedom of movement.

Though, it wasn't like there was nothing on Lol'lo's side though...

"Urgh! How ANNOYING!" Lol'lo yelled as he finally reached the limit of his patience. He soon set about raising his arms to the air, an idea soon forming in his mind regarding how to remedy this situation. "Time to clip those grey wing things of yours, ya tin can!" All the while, Kibo already began the process of circling around the airspace opposite him, prepping to strike him some more with that laser arm Energy Cannon thing of his.

"St-Stop with the robophobic behavior!"

Kibo yelled back as he prepared to fly over him again, aiming his Energy Cannon for another barrage. The weapon's interior soon began to glow as the sound of something charging filled the air. Though, compared to the prior blasts this one sounded like it would be a stronger one due to the elongated timeframe. The look in his eyes didn't have much in the way of organic human facial features, but just from his demeanor, one could tell he did NOT appreciate that remark Lol'lo made about him. Though, a better sign would be the sudden increase in the Wings' thruster output.

Just as he made to fire it when Kibo was just about to pass over him...

"UUUUUURRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO000M!

The instant before the Bazooka fired, Lol'lo howled as he brought his arms down together, smashing them into the ground to release a huge, a seriously HUGE 360-degree shockwave. This shockwave had the strength... and the impact... of something a collapsing building would have made. it literally reduced the fields around him to... one big crater... as well as knocked Kibo straight out of the air.

"WAAAAAAAAA!"

Kibo screamed in pain, flailing his limbs about like a fish out of the water as he spiraled out of the air like a falling missile. One of his Wings flailed about uselessly, sparks dancing along its frame thanks to it being reduced to scrap metal from the shockwave, before he crashed onto the ground near Lol'lo's right flank, creating a small dust cloud upon impact.

"Uggggghhh... damn... that was excessive..." Kibo painfully moaned as he struggled to his feet, stumbling a little as he glanced towards his destroyed Wing. The wing now looked like it had been severed, with circuits hanging out and sparks dancing across it. A disdainful look crossed onto his face at that. "Ohhhh, Miu sama won't be happy about that..." he mumbled... before he heard the telltale sound of rumbling. His eyes, if they were human, would have widened to the size of dots when he glanced in Lol'lo's direction and saw the bodybuilder-like man already running towards him with his arms open wide. Almost like he was trying to get him to hug the large guy. "Eek!"

Quickly having to react, Kibo aimed his Energy Cannon at the space to his side before firing. That resulted in a burst of motion which propelled him aside, just a small INCH of the distance separating Kibo from his opponent's arms. He quickly cut the power to his weapon, activating the systems within it to reform it into a normal arm just like his opposite one. While in the air he spun around so that he could land safely, sliding to a halt upon impact as he quickly bounced back, entering a mad sprint. "Too slow!"

A howl of his own escaped his mechanical mouth as Kibo jumped once he was close enough and wrapped his arms around the back of Lol'los neck. He heard a surprised exclamation from his opponent but didn't give any time for him to react, quickly putting all his weight into his arms as well as his movement, using both to thoroughly smash the much larger man into the ground. Robotic strength allowed him to do something like that as he quickly jumped back to avoid an attempt at grabbing him made by his adversary.

"Hmph... damn, that almost itched me there..." Lol'lo remarked, growling as dust fell from his face whilst he got to his feet. That attack just now had caught him by surprise, but it wasn't like it actually did anything right then. He did get the feeling that his earlier impression had been right, about how Kibo was one of the 'stronger' foes he had fought. He could only wonder what it would be like if this guy fought the same enemies that the Barbatus Clan fought on a daily basis. Perhaps he could have made a fine foot soldier... or at least a metal shield. He then looked towards his adversary, wiping his nose with his forearms as he let out a small grin, eyes glinting with bloodlust. "Heh, not bad for a piece of scrap metal. You might actually have some worth as a butt scratcher..." he remarked, all the while he actually scratched his backside.

Not something Kibo would appreciate if the way he looked to be cringing was any indication. "I will NOT be a 'butt scratchier'' you anti-robot wannabe!" he yelled, quickly morphing his right arm into his Energy Cannon as he unleashed a single blast in Lol'lo's direction. However, Lol'lo just simply... batted it away with a single swing of his arm.

"Sorry you metal reject, but that's one big fat 'NOPE!' from me." Lol'lo replied, mockingly. Definitely succeeded in irritating the robotic person before him, for sure. Thus, Kibo quickly got into a combat stance, the sounds of robotic circuits filling the air, His stance looked to be like this: his right leg forward, his left leg at his left flank with his left arm tucked in as if going for an under-arching punch and the right arm poised for a straight punch. Electricity arched around him as he glared heatedly towards his opponent, causing Lol'lo to smirk eagerly. The man read his posture, and immediately h got the impression that Kibo would be taking this fight seriously now. If he hadn't been before that is, but Lol'lo did;t really care. He was going down either way so his King could win this little bitch-slapping contest. "Come on then, I'll give you a free shot. See if you can hit me and prove that you're not just worthless garbage."

At this, Kibo let out a furious growl from within his throat, his irritation with these constant remarks about him pissing him off beyond his limits. "Alright, fine! I'll show you the power of robots!" he yelled, tucking in both arms before the backs of his shoulders opened as if they were 8-petal flowers. The moment they did, huge thrusters exploded into two balls of orange flames, propelling him forwards just like his Wings would as he made to launch a flying kick at Lol'lo's face.

Said man just stood there with his arms crossed, a smug smirk on his lips as he simply took the attack head-on. In fact, he reared his head back and literally HEAD-BUTTED the kick, both repelling it and knocking Kibo back. He didn't say anything, instead just remained silent as Kibo closed his shoulders and ignited thrusters within his HANDS this time, bouncing into the air and spinning back towards his opponent with a flying roundhouse kick.

As the kick hit him in the side of the head with the force of a Tank shell, what do you think Lol'lo was thinking about right now? Let's take a look, shall we?

'Strats, strats-strats, strats-strats-strats...!'

...

...

...

...

...

... Wow, savage.

In any case, Kibo saw how his attack didn't even faze him, forcing the Robot to growl. 'MORE!' He thought, quickly igniting his thrusters to propel himself backward before he threw his arms downwards to propel himself into the air. At the apex of his ignition, Kibo raised his right leg and supercharged it, electricity and heat burning from the limb as he brought it down on Lol'lo's head...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

'Yes! A direct hit!' Kibo thought, overjoyed as he launched himself backward to a safe distance, a smirk slowly forming on his lips. 'That'll definitely have caused SOME kind of damaged to that organic's cranium...!' He thought further as he landed and got back into his stance like his creator had programmed him to. His calculations had told him such an onslaught would definitely have left its mark against a member of Joseph's peerage, and his creator was meant to be the ultimate inventor! So, how could she have been wrong?

"Heh, I guess that was a good warm-up..."

"Wha-"

PAWNCH!

"GAH!"

Unfortunately, this seemed like one of those times, as Kibo suddenly felt a massive fist SLAM into the side of his head, forcing him to the ground with enough force to make a crater even larger than the one that had been previously made. If this one had been made first, then it would have been ten times larger than the one present now...

That was all Kibo thought, before he felt something stomp through his chest during his brief moment of disorientation. and then saw nothingness.

* * *

"Whelp, that takes care of that..."

Lol'lo commented to himself whilst withdrawing his foot from the remains of his opponent's torso. He'd noticed that most of the whirring came from that section of his body, and while he didn't seem to be anything human, he figured that if he stomped there he would have done something to disable the enemy. Looked like his hunch was spot on... Still, it felt somewhat like a cop-out that this guy couldn't take even a stomp at 40% power. Was Raiser's peerage full of weaklings like this one, or was this one some form of a cripple?

Bah, a bit late to ask now...

What the hell, he'll just ask anyways.

"Uhhh, hey robot head." Lol'lo called out, raising his foot and applying only 20% this time... still managed to squash half of Kibo's face in though, to his irritation and slight disappointment. "Were these so-called 'inventions' made by someone who's as weak as you are or what? What's the deal here?" After a moment of silence, however, Lol'lo shook his head before shrugging his shoulders. "Ah well, at least Boss is one step closer to victory... wonder if there'll be any stronger ones to fight out there. There better be, otherwise this will be extremely boring. Oh, who am I kidding, finding others to fight in equal terms against me here is impossible already, guess I have to go with the second option and make the chicken scream like a little bitch, that ought to be entertaining."

With that said, Lol'lo huffed as he walked on, leaving the destroyed robot corpse there, since it no longer interested him anymore.

" **Joseph Barbatus, 1 pawn, retired.** " A voice said for all the hear. As Lo'lo heard that he could only shrug. It was either the enemy got lucky on getting the drop of one of them or it was one of those strategies the others cared so much about. It, however, didn't matter to Lo'lo.

He would destroy what is in his path, nothing more and nothing less.

* * *

 **Writer's Note:**

 **Thanks for the wait. The next few chapters I will try to release faster.**

 **Review or PM me and give me as many ideas as you might want. Also, do check out my newest project in my page. It is a Code Geass fic and I hope you all will appreciate it and also vote on the pool related to it.**

 **Thanks for the patience, have a nice day =)**


	47. Chapter 46

In the base of Rias and Joseph she was waiting to hear the news, she knew that Joseph had to leave quickly after he found out that Kiba was injured, and Rias insisted over and over with him to go and heal him before bringing him back.

She was worried as she sat in her room, looking at the insect Entoma had created that could receive and showcase the visual information of hundreds of insects she had spread throughout the city using the smoke scream as cover. It was scary how efficient everything was going throughout the battlefield, it was like she was not doing much of anything as Joseph was taking care of virtually everything there was to take care within the game.

She felt, controversial. At one side she wanted to show everyone that she herself was capable and she could win by her own strength, on the other hand having her man do everything to help her did feel good somehow, especially considering how much of a hunk he is.

However, her thoughts were cut short as it was right after Joseph left that things changed drastically for their side when out of nowhere the enemy appeared.

"Promote, Queen!" A dark-haired woman with impressive abs and an eyepatch said as she removed a camouflage equipment that made detecting her virtually impossible unless someone could sense life force, if Koneko had trained on senjutsu more this would not have happened, but she chose instead to put her focus on training demonic powers as she did not like and felt it was far too dangerous to rain in the art.

The result was that the woman, Valme, showed up inside their base and somewhat close to Rias. Valme tried to pierce Rias then and there with her knife, only for it to fall short when Gonta moved and stopped her perfectly. Well, not like he touched her since he merely punched the air and the pressure was enough to make her be pushed back.

It was not to be forgotten that amongst all young devils the only ones that could match Gonta in physical power are Lo'lo, Sona's Rook Sakura, and Sairaorg, even Joseph would not be a match in pure brute strength and need to depend on techniques to be equal in that.

However, that was not enough to falter Valmet since she knew that there were plenty of targets there that she could deal with, Gonta was troublesome but he was focused in protecting Rias and thus Valme had other opponents she could defeat while still within the time limit (no way she would stay there long enough to face Joseph, she is not suicidal).

Thinking that she still was eyeing Rias with a knife as she took a gun with her other hand and shot both Leonardo and Issei since both were the closest to her and within aim distance. Thankfully they managed to evade this somehow but it still hurt both of them as Issei got shot through the stomach and Leonardo was shot in his left arm (he only suffered this much due to the fact he had 'equipped' a monster he created that protected his torso as if a plate mail, which made Valme aim where she could to damage him). Not satisfied with that Valme aimed her gun at Entoma who is currently unable to defend herself due to how spent she is after creating an entire legion of bugs to not only serve as scouting unity but also disarm whatever bombs there were in the city, which was a lot.

However, before she could take the shot Valme felt like she was about to die for a moment there since Gonta jumped at her with absolutely surprising speed and terrifying momentum, making her give up on attacking the others and instead focus on surviving for now.

BOOM

As Gonta hit the place she stood seconds ago he created a crater in the ground, hit power enough to make the whole place tremble as he stood up.

"Gonta is gentleman and not hurt woman, but more importantly Gonta not allow girlfriend to hurt be, this is most ungentlemanly like thing that Gonta not allow. So, Gonta sorry but Gonta has to eliminate you now." Gonta said as he prepared himself and launched against Valme. She instantly chose to jump back as she took the hit, being thrown back but eliminating most of the damage and allowing her to aim her gun directly at the unprotected king.

SHOT SHOT

Two shots were made, one aiming at the liver and one at the right lung, the precision and timing perfect as with this she could eliminate Rias as well as fulfill her mission of 'showing off' the merchandise, but before the hits actually got to Rias a wave of a blood red energy covered them, destroying the bullets in mid-air.

"Sorry, but I will not be defeated that easily," Rias said as she covered her whole body in POD before stretching her hand and releasing flame-like balls of POD towards Valme, who evaded only to almost be hit by Gonta who was more and more looking like he was about to go super sayian. Honestly speaking no one knew exactly what Gonta is, he looked and biologically was the same as any human, but his power is beyond anything a normal human could hope to match and his instincts were pretty much the same as well as the state he gets when enraged that makes his power grow all the more terrifying.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside the base another fight was going on as one of Kasper's rooks was fighting against her apprentice, Mukuro. At first, Koneko wanted to help, but after Mukuro told her to look in the back and other places to make sure no more enemies were around Koneko left to do just that, letting Mukuro to deal with the rook.

People believe that a rook is someone who is slow but powerful, but one thing had to be said about the woman facing Mukuro, she was definetly not slow at all. If anything she moved with precision and decisiveness as if she could see in the future, but that was simply instincts born from being amongst the best of the best mercenaries in the entire world for more than 10 years straight, her list of enemies was only smaller than her list of kills as she fought in any profitable place there was. She started fighting as a child soldier as she was sold for the cartels in Mexico when she was only 5 and never got injured with more than scratches throughout her career, even as she now neared 33 she still was an undefeated monster in the battlefield who had instincts that were absurd to the point of future prediction according to some. This is Chiquita, one of the scariest beings in this battlefield.

However, the one facing her knew her inside out, after all, Mukuro was by far the best student Chiquita ever had. The battle was chaotic and hard to even approach as bullets and knives are pulled out and used at every second with such speed and decisiveness that even the arrogant nobles spectating were scared silly seeing this, any of these two is more than enough to defeat most full peerages of young devils and would not be misplaced even if put in the peerages of those in the top of the game, they were just that good.

It was at this point that both decided to stop 'playing around' and put actual effort into this, both started aiming at finishing off the other, attacks at joints, eye, heart, any and all places that many would consider shameful to aim at was being aimed with emphasis. Their speed such that it was hard to identify where exactly an attack was coming from as at any moment they aimed at unexpected spots as well as shooting at lethal places, it was brutal beyond compare and made even a few of those who fought in the civil war feel like this is worse than anything they saw during the war.

But, the most terrifying thing was how neither Mukuro or Chiquita changed their expression in the slightest even when they were hit or when they were evaded, it was completely mechanical and the 'innocence' many would feel when seeing a rating game, how it deviated from the purpose of preparing leaders for the army and instead made players, were reminded of how brutal war truly is, after all, what both Mukuro and Chiquita were doing is undeniably a war of two.

* * *

While this was happening Rizer was enjoying his wine sitting in his golden throne (literally, he decided to convince Kasper that instead of bringing more Phenex Tears bringing enough comfort for the 'show' was more important) and seeing everything happening. He was using the classic surveillance magic, it could not see anything inside the cloud of smoke but he could still see the enemy's base well enough to see the fights happening there.

"Hum, interesting." He said.

Isabela, one of his rooks that was currently massaging his shoulders while he felt the breasts of two other peerage members, looked at him curiously and asked.

"What is it that you find interesting, master?"

"Nothing much, just that those two woman outside have decent enough bodies and they probably would feel great in bed, perhaps I could buy then later after I win this game, or just tell them that I want them and I am sure they would open their legs for me. After all, everyone would love to have the bastards of a superior being like myself."

All the woman there nodded and praised his insight, he was feeling great about himself without noticing two things. One, his sister was leaning more and more apart from him, she finally started recognizing a sinking ship as she saw one and her brother was a poor version of Titanic that was already full of holes, staying were she was will not lead her anywhere, of this she was more and more certain as she noticed more and more how he truly was. Two, he and the others didn't notice a small eye far away in a corner, not that it would be easy to see since said eye was camouflaged to look like a wall anyway.

Said eye was one belonging to a certain pawn of Joseph, it was the eye of Solution that had managed to quickly and silently approach the building where Riser and his peerage is using as their base and was currently watching over them as well as creating and putting a lot of explosive substances all over the said base. Joseph asked her to prepare their base to go up in flames such that it looks like fireworks all around, but she honestly felt that she should just go in and finish them all off herself.

No one there felt even slightly threatening to her, even Riser amounted to nothing in her eyes since she knew she could deal with him in a matter of seconds anyway, but Joseph did not want that. He wanted to make this a show of power to attract his true targets, as such finishing them off right now is counter-productive. But, damn she wanted to do it, especially when Riser started talking about how he could make Mukuro his 'pet' just by opening his mouth.

Mukuro was one of the few people Solution considered a close friend, hearing that was something that made her want to put Riser inside her body and test how long he could take before his healing stopped and he became only nutrients for herself, before she spit him out of course since she was not interested in truly eating him. She comes from a species that could devour anything, but she felt that eating Riser would make her discover what stomach pain is.

Well, she at least got an act of slight revenge when she released a small fragment of herself and positioned it right bellow Riser's golden throne. It was capable of camouflaging itself with the ambient around and it was so small that none of them noticed, something that made Solution shake her head in how incompetent they are. If she wanted to she could explode that small fragment with enough strength that most of the people in the room would be eliminated then and there, but Solution wanted to humiliate Riser right now so she waited.

"Ah, it is good to be a pure-blooded devil, everyone else is trash in comparison to my greatness, hahahahaha-"

FFFAAAARRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTT

Solution had to hold the laughter as she decided to release a very different type of 'bomb' in the room, and due to its position everyone thought that Riser had just farted right then and there, his face going from haughty to disgust and ending in fear due to the simple fact that most of the elites of the underworld were watching and EVERYONE believed he decided to fart with them watching.

His 'good image' was partially ruined with just that simple act, after all, most noble devils were far too worried about appearances and thus would look down on Riser due to only that fact, they were just that simple-minded.

Heck, even Riser's peerage left the room then and there due to how terrible the smell was. Riser was trying to eliminate the smell of burnt feces with spoiled milk and vomit by burning the air around, something mostly useless since the 'poison' used by Solution only grew stronger with the heat. Thus it was like this, this pathetic and unorganized form, that Riser's peerage entered in the game in full.

* * *

Back On Rias' base, the things were not going that well. While Gonta and Rias were capable of keeping Valme in check this was their limit, Valme already got a few broken bones but in exchange, Gonta had taken his fair share of slashes from her knife. Entoma tried to help but now was sustaining a few holes from Valme shooting her.

Thankfully Entoma had covered part of her body in insect armor just as Leonardo did, but the armor was far too fragile to protect her body against the shots. However, cracks could be seen here and there as she got a few wounds throughout her body.

Valme knew she could not stay there any longer, she had already shot Issei five times making Asia focus on healing him instead of focusing on the much more important in this situation Gonta or Entoma, the love did blind young nun was love blind and did not listen to Rias' orders. Despite all this Valme could detect a huge power coming this way, Joseph was approaching quickly and she knew that if she were to face him she would die.

With this knowledge she no longer had time to hesitate. Moving to the side she decided to, at the very least, eliminate some of the other team's side before leaving.

Taking out one of the weapons she had tucked away in her clothes she jumped back and let it fall to the ground.

BANG

A flash grenade exploded then and there, blinding everyone for just enough time for Valme (who had covered her eyes in time and recovered her vision first) to aim and shoot three times, hitting Entoma, Asia, and Leonardo.

' **Rias' 1 bishop, Joseph's 2 Pawns, retired.** '

With this Valme escaped, she was not going to stand there and let herself be caught by the others that were there at all.

"And where you think you are going?" A voice came from in front of her, a wave of killing intent so pure and terrifying that managed to make Valme, someone who fought in multiple wars in her life and even saw death in the eye multiple times, to feel fear.

Joseph was standing there, and he was not happy.

With a yell she shot her gun at him, she was overwhelmed by the feeling that Joseph was giving off but it was a testament of how she was deep down that her first reaction to this situation was to attack and try to eliminate the threat.

A shame that she was outmatched by far too much.

Her bullets barely managed to pierce his body that was covered in scales even when it managed to pierce his scales it was all recovered almost instantly, his sacred gear healing him faster than what Valme could wound him.

Joseph was glaring at her for a while as she did that, but suddenly he exploded in movement and before anyone could tell when his foot was already in Valme's stomach, launching her in the air while making her lose the air in her lungs. The kick was strong enough to create a whirling-like effect around his leg and launch her so high that she broke the roof and kept going upward before disappearing.

" **Kasper's 1 Pawn, Retired.** "

As he saw this Joseph could only praise more the martial techniques he had, this one was named _Rising Sage Leg_ and it only worked well with him when he was using his sword or when he was in his _Black Origin Thresshold_ state, but the power is definetly top notch. If he didn't control himself a bit there he might have truly killed Valme with this.

But to be honest, he was far too mad to care. He had had enough, the game was fun for Joseph but if it was to be a game between only him and Kasper then he might as well change it all and set it up in the way he wanted it.

Seeing that Rias and the others inside were a bit hurt he decided against healing them for now. He still had something to do and an audience to awe, as well as take advantage of the fact that Entoma managed to, right before retiring, send him a report about Kasper's localization.

Moving to the outside of the base he turned to where Kasper was located, he didn't even bother with the fact that Mukuro and Chiquita were fighting close by as he looked towards where Kasper was and aimed his sword.

"This game with you Kasper has gone for long enough. I will finish this now," As Joseph said that the skies turned pitch black as arcs of thunder were the only light that could be seen. It was terrifying as if the world was ending when Joseph pointed his sword to the area where Kasper was and released his attack. " ** _Bararaq Inquerad-Saiqa_** (Lightning Sword of Execition)"

As he said that the skies parted and from it a sword of absurd proportions surged, it was made entirely of thunder and its power was such that no one in this stage doubted that they wouldn't be able to survive if hit by that one.

Just before it hit the area a message rang but no one heard what it said as the sword descended and not only the building it hit but everything in 70% of the game area was destroyed by the thuder that exploded from there, and even where it ws not destructed it was clear to see many spots with scorched marks and damage.

One attack eliminated everything, it was than that every expectator realized that Joseph could have ended this game at literally any moment he desired and that he reached the point of using the supreme art of his family and the reason why every true warrior respected the Barbatus clan, they are the only clan who had such level of attack naturally.

Extreme magic.


	48. Chapter 47

**AN: Yes, it has been a LONG time. I just am not that into this fic anymore. I guess that the fact I never really had a plan for a 'THE END' made this a tad harder than I wanted it to when the excitment burned down.**

 **Anyway, I have two more chapters ready for the rating game that I intend to post and then it will be a hiatus until I manage to read it all again to see if I can get more ideas. Oh, and I was thinking in starting a new fic of DxD.**

 **I have a couple ideas, one I already posted under the name _Chaos Bringer_ but I have a few others. Here are they, you all can help me decide what to follow as I am not sure myself.**

 **\- A fic where the MC is born as the adoptive big brother of Xenovia (the actual son of Griselda) and has a sacred gear in the Sephiroth Grail. He would be a huge Jojo fan and takes inspiration in Giorno's stand Golden Experience on his use of his sacred gear as well as be able to learn from Heroic Spirits due to the Sephiroth Grail.**

 **\- A fic where the MC is reincarnated as just a regular low class devil. He would have the memories of his last life but he doesn't really have the power to use his knowledge for anything useful until he accidentally finds something he never expected to find. A Akuma no Mi, and none other than the Pika Pika no mi, the light fruit of Kizaru.**

 **-The final is a fic where the MC is born as the younger brother of Rossweise. He would be trained by Odin in the arts of being a perve... I mean the arts of magic and fighting, he would also be quite hated by that idiot Loki and he would have a spear based on those from Diarmuid and have knowledge over runes.**

 **Now, it is up to you all over what I will do next. Oh, and check out my other fics _Sword Magic Knight_ and _Tech Prince of Britania_ as I think they are quite good.**

* * *

I might have gone a bit overboard just now, I did not plan on showing off my Extreme Magic at all but when I saw how Leonardo, who I promised to protect, and especially Entoma, who I consider my little sister, be hurt enough to be removed from the game all I could see is red and I had to do something about it.

Not long after that I could hear the message.

" **Kasper Hekmatyer has retired, without him his whole team is removed from the game**."

I saw clearly as Mukuro, who had not taken her eyes away from Chiquita's form for even a second, stabed her knife where Chiquita's head was a second ago before she was removed from the game.

Mukuro is pouting due to the fight having stopped midway, seeing such a cute scene warms my heart.

I turned to the others in the base, the hanging mouth of Rias and the others there was funny to see, but I could not be too happy since I wasted too much energy there. Thinking for a bit I know I am still fine enough to fight but pretend to be a bit weaker would be for the better so I released my transformation and created a chair made out of demonic energy to sit down to rest.

If the chair looked a bit like a throne it was merely a coincidence, I am just used to creating this one and as imagination is important when creating something like this the results were as such.

"J-Joseph, since when did you master such power? I never heard of you using it." Rias said, her voice a bit stretched and troubled. She probably thought she had a good estimation of my powers but I think the only ones who know exactly how strong I am are my peerage members, except for Caesar since I doubt he can keep a secret if his life depended on it. He is far too easy to read since we were young.

"I have been strong since always Rias, but to how strong I am maybe I could tell you later." I said with a small laugh. "I will probably need some rest for a while now. You and your peerage will have to deal with Ryzer's peerage now together with my peerage. Mukuro will stay back to guard me while I rest."

After that I made confirmations with my peerage and was about to tell them their orders when.

" **Rias Gremory's Queen, Retired**."

I guess there are some things that just don't change.

"Damn, Akeno has lost. I heard she was fighting against Ryzer's bishop but I never expected her to be so strong. We will need to think on how to deal with her." Rias said while digging her nails in her hand from how tight her fists were bailing.

"Don't worry about her, it will work out soon with some fireworks as bonus." I said with Mukuro giving a slight smile.

"What do you-"

BBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

And just like that, most of what was intact of the field was pulverized.

Going back a few minutes

The fight between the two well-endowed women was reaching a climax. Yubelluna was fighting bravely but Akeno was simply better in comparison and the tips about thunder magic that Narberal gave her certainly helped making her all the deadlier.

The two were wounded all over already but in the end Akeno won, her thunder dragon hitting Yubelluna directly and sending the other falling to the ground.

"Ufufufu, I guess this is my win." Akeno said, mirth in her voice as she put an arm under her breasts to emphasize them.

"Who knows, I wouldn't count on that." Yubelluna said as she took from one of her pockets a Phenex Tear, healing instantly.

Akeno wanted to fight more, but it was then that Joseph's attack fell. The intensity and power of it was such that Akeno was paralyzed in awe, it was a level of thunder that she has never imagined possible to anyone that was not a god and looking at it she completely lost herself for a moment there.

Unfortunately that was a moment too much since Yubelluna used that time to create a grand linked explosions all around Akeno. The brunette tried to resist but it was just far too much for her.

" **Rias Gremory's Queen, Retired.** "

Seeing this Yuelluna could not stop erself from exploding in laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA, did you enjoy the power of this explosion queen? Next will be the filthy half blood and the red whore." Yubelluna said, hatred in her voice as she never accepted the fact her master and lover wanted to marry someone and that person DARED to not knew to the ground and thank him for his blessings.

The problem is that someone there took offense to what she had just said.

"Repeat what you just said, bitch. I dare you." A voice came from the top of one of the buildings.

Looking at it Yubeluna saw a girl with white long hair and a strange red armor looking at her with fury in her eyes.

"What is it you want me to repeat, brat? That the Gremory bitch is a stupid wore or that the Baratus filth has filthy blood?" Yubelluna said mockingly, she never heard of this person and she just won against someone strong, she was so high in her victory that she never even understood how fucked she is.

"No, not that, you idiot. The part you called those parlor tricks of yours as explosions and called yourself Explosion Queen." Chris said, her voice more annoyed then before.

"And what about it? When compared to me no one comes near to be as good with explosion magic anyway." Yubelluna said.

"Oh yeah, so try out one of my attacks and tell me who deserves to be the Explosion Queen." Chris said, one of her favorite pastimes being taking down egocentric people a notch or two, that being one of the reasons she likes being in Joseph's, there are plenty of egocentric people there.

Before Yubelluna could answer Chris' smile turned purely predatorial, from the back of her armor rockets appeared in a grand total of fourmissiles of five meters tall, the type that woule seem comical if not for the fact that it is all 100% condensed explosive and unstable energy. Not thinking it enough another part of her back armor, this one closer to her hips, opened and from it 24 missiles of around 2 meters tall appeared, each of them as strong as Yubelluna's strongest attack. Still wanting to make sure to show the message right her cross-bows are transformed into a pair of double tri-barrel gattling guns, and of course she also created a total of 64 smaller, as in 80 centimeters tall, missiles from all other parts of her body.

It was then that Yubelluna came down from her high of winning and realized she might have bitten off more than she asked for. There was a reason for Joseph to prefer to only really use Chris when there was no risk for civilians and for large areas of destructions, she was simply far too dangerous.

"DIE!" Chris yelled as the multitude of missiles flew, they all went to Yubelluna and the area surrounding her, the destruction enough to leave everything, literally everything, be bathed in a sea of flames. This to not mention of the four biggest missiles, they created craters in the area so big that it was like 2 or 3 football fields in size and the depth is about 30 meters.

Yubelluna, a woman who prided herself as the Explosion Queen, fell in an explosion many times greater than anything she could cause, the irony.

Not that this was enough for Chris, she wanted to truly go crazy and use her Balance Breaker, but she was still mastering it and Joseph had forbidden her to use it unless extrictly necessary.

She hated this, if not for this she alone would probably had finished the game in seconds as in pure destruction she was just as good or even better than Joseph when the two were to go all out, even if he did not like admitting that at all, but containing herself was never quite her style.

Sigh, at least she got to blow some shit up so that is something.

In Rizer's base the man despaired seeing the explosion that took place one after the other.

Seeing this Ravel wanted to see what exactly her brother would do, and she was again disappointed.

"How DARE that cow hit one of my girls? Doesn't she know that she might leave a scar? I don't want defective products to fuck! Okay, that is it, we are going there and defeat them right now!" Rizer said, his flames being quite strong but making Ravel not even bat an eye, she had seen better and she IS better than this amount of power.

But he was still her brother so she at least had to try and help him a bit.

"Brother, I think we should try and play it smart. Face them head on don't seem like a smart strategy, we could instead send a part of our forces to make hit and run tactics while another division is to go and attack either Joseph or Rias, defeating their peerages is not necessary." Ravel said, what she failed to say was how this was what they should have done from the start instead of letting the enemy make the first move.

Focusing on defense only worked when the defensive structure was defensive in the first place. They were in a known location with the only defense being Rizer's peerage and those from Kasper's peerage, and she knew perfectly well that Joseph would never be hurt or even truly blocked by Kasper's peerage since they were long time allies.

While Kasper did more than Ravel expected it still was not enough and she knew that winning this was impossible, but at least getting a better result was not since there was still a chance to at least eliminate Rias.

But, her brother never failed to fail her expectations.

"No, we will attack from the very front! We will all move in and reach their base all at once, eliminating anyone that stands in our path." Rizer said confidently, he had absolute confidence in his own abilities and he knew that he would win in the end regarles of anything else as he is a Phenex. His regeneratice abilities ensured he would never die due to excessive damage, rating games are ridiculously easy for him (in his own opinion).

Hearing Rizer's words Ravel could only shake her head before trying again.

"But brother, facing them like his is crazy. We would be defeated within minutes." Ravel protested, she was quite clear about the power of her brother's peerage and everyone here would not be able to defeat even one of Joseph's peerage members in a straight fight, trying to challenge them all together is beyond stupid. The only one she could count to be able to do anything useful and that could have been the key to winning is her brother's queen, but he not only sent her alone outside he also made made her work as a vanguard, wasting one of his trump cards in a useless fight against that juggernaut Lo'Lo. If not for that decision, which she was against from the start, they could have used him as a distraction to advance their group in enemy's territory, but now it was too late.

Not only were they alone the field was wild open due to the attacks of Joseph and Chris, they don't have many places to hide or sneak around and to make matters worse most of the heaviest hitters of the other side are still there including the assassins (Solution and Peko), the unstoppable (Lo'lo), and the pure danger (Komaeda, he gives everyone the creeps).

Sighing Ravel simply decided to consider this as an experience, no matter how great the adviser may be if the general don't listen and this was something Ravel was experiencing quite clearly now.

She still loves her brother deeply, and she knows he is trying to impress the nobles with this performance, but before thinking on how he would look on his victory he should stress out in winning.

Steeling herself Ravel stood there and followed her brother in his decision, even if it is idiotic and doomed to fail.

Well, not like they managed to leave the building so easily anyway.

BBBBOOOOOOMMMMMMMM

It was at this point that the entire building exploded in flames, it caved in and everything inside burned and was crushed in a matter of instants, everyone inside ran out of it as fast as they could but it was not quite enough as the smoke released actualy contained certain poisonous substances.

" **Rizer Phenex, 3 pawns retired**."

When they managed to get out of the fire three of Rizer's pawns could not manage as they were eliminated, not by the flames but by the assassin that wanted to play some more instead of just exploding this building. All three did not notice anything until they had a dagger piercing their chest right through, it was such clean hits that the others didn't even realized anything until it was far too late and as they failed to see the assassination they did not discover Solution's presence.

She was still there, waiting for a chance to take out some more of them.

Rizer wanted to take proper command of the situation when suddenly he saw the giant cat-form of Haineko approaching as well as Lo'lo, both running towards him at full speed.

While Rizer wanted to face them head on and prove his superiority his peerage was completely unruly, each of them going to a different direction and completely losing any form of coordination. They were not used to true battle or bloodshed, and the enemy knows this well to the point their presence smelled of it and made them terrifyied. It was truly amazing how quickly Rizer lost any shred of control he had over his group, his pawns (that were still in the game) all ran away, the knights had one standing to protect Rizer while the other ignored him to go and face the enemy ahead, and Ravel was trying to organize everyone while her brother was ignoring the situation at hand.

Just as Ravel was about to complain she felt something pickle the side of her neck and when she turned her eyes to see what she saw Solution with a hand over her mouth to stop her from shouting. Solution had an apologetic smile as she said.

"Sorry, but master asked me to ensure you would be removed in the most painless way possible. That is my main mission here, hope you won't take it personal."

Ravel exploded in flames, she released fire from her entire body to try and make Solution fet away from her, but she was poorly matched.

While Ravel's flames were definetly strong enough to be considered amongst the hottest that someone her age in her family ever had in the end Solution, as a type of slime, made the surface of her body be covered by a thin surface of heat resistant material. The reasons why Joseph asked Solution to do what she did was four, first to make Rizer's base go up in a ball of fire, second was to ensure that any defense they might try to implement as barricading is useless and impossible, third was to make sure that Rizer's peerage is dispersed to make them even easier picks, and the final and most important reason was to guaranty that Ravel would leave the stage soon and without harm.

Joseph cared for her and he understood that she cared for that stain of the world, as he would call it, so he decided that he would make sure secretly that Ravel would not get to see what was about to happen. After all, while true that a Phenex had an absurdly annoying regenerative capacity it is also true that it means that defeating them in a rating game depends on making them give up by any means necessary.

Of course, this works best for Joseph that want to make this last but he would not like Ravel seeing it.

Anyway, with her job done Solution did not stick around. An assassin should be able to attack fast and run even faster, that is something she knew by heart after all.

" **Rizer Phenex, 1 bishop Retired**."

When Rizer heard that he turned to the back, trying to see his sister which was not exactly the smartest decision he has ever made. After all…

"You shouldn't look away, chicken trash!" A gruffy voice said just at that time, and before Rizer could react a rock hit where his head was instants ago.

Lo'lo launched it as he continued to run towards Rizer, he was being attacked by one of the knights but he did not care in the slightest since none of her attacks with that giant sword of hers could even pierce his skin.

Not like she had much time to do this since saws and blades started falling down on her.

The name of this knight is Siris, she knew that she could not try and deal with the enemy attacking her now. The fact that the enemy was closing in on her master was more important. She had to try and at least delay them for long enough for her master to escape or defend himself, but she could not do that as someone cut her path.

Siris only had time to avoid by a hair's away an attack from this new enemy that appeared far too quickly. Looking at the enemy Siris did not know how exactly to react.

It was a black haired girl with around 12 or 13 years old with twintails and covered in a pink armor, she was the one that moved in quickly by creating a large moon weel by combining two large chain saws that rotated so fast she ran faster than Siris that was a knight.

"You are not going anywhere." The girl said.

"That is right, death." A different voice came from her back, turning to see it was a blond haired girl with a more developed build than the other. She had a green armor and carried a green scythe in her hand.

Siris could feel that she was going to have a tough fight here, and even if she knew she should prioritize Rizer's safety right now she could not help but smile in the thought of a challenge.

And so the final stage of this rating game was starting.


	49. Chapter 48

In one direction two people were running away at full speed. It was a pair of pawns twins, both having green hair and small bodies, the two were running while carrying chainsaws. They were frightened and decided to run away at top speed, they wanted to survive as they felt like their lives were one step away from ending.

Unfortunately, the two were truly unlucky.

"Well, well, well. Who would say, I found myself facing two girls at once, how unlucky of me and you two." A voice said in front of the duo. The two instantly prepared themselves for combat but when they saw the opponent they did not know if they should be scared or not.

The person that appeared was none other than Komaeda, his body having become a bit thinner as he stood there with a presence that made both of the twins fearful of him, but the most striking thing about him was that his eyes were strange. It was like they became swirls of darkness as he stared at the two.

"I must say, you two truly are lucky. I am not good at direct combat and if you can eliminate me you probably could deal quite the damage to the enemy. Wouldn't you two who lack anything special and unique about you, the run of the mill nobodies that will disappear of the world without accomplishing anything, like to try and make a name to yourselves? This is your hope, your last big chance of reaching hope." Komaeda said, his eyes swirling in darkness as the two pawns started feeling dizzy.

As the swirls on Komaeda's eyes continued turning the two girls started feeling stranger and stranger, not long after the two started hearing a voice in their head over and over again.

'Being the stepping stone for hope is the best.'

'Working for hope is everything.'

'Only those working for hope deserve to live.'

'Hope.'

'Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, **HOPE!** '

By the end of it the two simply stood there and could not do anything else, their eyes to becoming swirls of darkness as they stood in place.

"... I guess this is as much as talentless people can accomplish. At least I will give you all meaning in your lives, go and find Riser and make sure to force upon him as much pain and misery as you can, my fellow stepping stones!"

"Yes, we shall Hope's servant." The two said in deadpan voices before turning around and start moving to where their target was. Whenever they went unlucky things started happening as buildings falling and almost hitting them or the dust in the air hitting the two in the eyes directly.

But they had a mission as stepping stones of hope, and they would follow through with it.

Komaeda looked at the two with some fondness but behind him as a line of defense Narberal could not help but shudder at what she had seen. This was her boyfriend's Balance Breaker, Telos Tyrant Karma (Ultimate Karma Tyrant). It makes those affected by it be controlled by the user and follow any instruction. While under control the puppets create bad luck constantly and those that are targetted by those puppets become the target of the bad luck or good luck depending on the situations (if it is to attack it is bad luck, protect or guard creates good luck). The puppets never stop until either Komaeda releases them or dies, even deactivating the sacred gear does nothing about it.

It is a subspecies Balance Breaker and if Narberal was honest she had mixed feelings about this Balance Breaker since it was not a 100% success rate, if the enemy was strong enough or had an unusually high mental fortitude it would not work but against these twins, they never stood a chance.

"Hahahahahahaha, this is my first present to you Hope-sama! I swear I will make the stage even better for you to shine even brighter and make sure that everyone can feel your presence." Komaeda started laughing maniacally. and Narberal was only looking from the side. This was just another proof to her that while the rest of Joseph's peerage is much stronger than Komaeda he definetly is the most dangerous one. He is simply terrifying in all aspects.

* * *

On another area Riser was desperately trying to survive. Lo'lo was running behind him, a maniacal smile on his face as he continuously hit Riser whenever he got close enough. The knight he had with him was long since left behind, Lo'lo offhandedly slaped her away as if she was a bug buzzing around his ears.

Of course, this move ended up sending her through five buildings and destroying them all. He was just that absurd strong. Riser saw that and had to focus and try his best not to piss his pants, that sort of physical power should be only possible for those in the top 10 of the rating games, not for amateurs like them!

Opening his wings Riser took flight, Lo'lo tried to do the same but he simply sucked when it comes to flying so there wasn't much he could truly do.

Not that the air was that good for Riser, shots from Rias' base started ranging as Mukuro sniped Riser using her sacred gear. In a matter of seconds, he was filled with holes and no matter how much he regenerated she simply continued making sure he looked like swiss cheese.

On the ground he had to run from the behemoth that was Lo'lo, on the sky he was simply prey for Mukuro, he truly was starting to doubt slightly his chances of winning this.

* * *

On another area the knight that was launched by Lo'lo was standing up to see another knight looking at her. Kiba was positioned a bit further away but on an important street that would surely be used by at least one of Riser's peerage members when they had separated all around. He was not that happy with it through, it was like everything that happened was going squarely according to Joseph's plans as he had ordered Peko to follow another path to ensure something else and Kiba had to continue where he was.

It was true that this place was important, but it was not so much so and he knew it would turn meaningless soon enough as a new plan was already in motion by Joseph and Kiba's king's orders.

The knight of Riser was named Kalarmine, she was a typical knight-like person and as soon as she stood back up she had to spit what she had on her mouth. Multiple teeth fell together with the blood, one side of her face was completely bloodied and her left arm she used to defend herself hang lifeless without being able to move. Her state was such that Kiba felt all his instincts as a 'knight' saying that he should go and help her, but he knew he was here to eliminate her.

Thinking so he created a demonic sword with his sword blacksmith before engaging her directly. She could not see on one side, which normally would mean he should aim for that side, but his honor demanded him to at least fight her on the side she could fight back instead of taking advantage of the advantage he had.

He knew that his decision was not one that anyone from Joseph's peerage would ever agree, they were all extremely pragmatic and would take whatever opportunity to win the easiest and fastest way possible, but Kiba was different. He was a knight, and he had his own pride of carrying such title.

However, his decision of making this a more fair fight resulted in a stallement as Kalarmine's sword was one of the best the money could buy and its powers were enough to match Kiba's creations, not that it mattered in the great scheme of things. This was a small fight that was not that important on the great scheme of things.

* * *

As Riser was starting to get tired he saw something he really did not expect. Rias, in all her crimson glory, was standing in the path he was going through. It was only then that he realized that he was being led to her, but he was okay with that. He wanted to defeat her and this was a prime chance for that so he did not hesitate to swoop down with fire covering his form.

His thoughts were only in winning at this point, everything else was merelly an extra if in comparison. The pressure over him was such that he did not had the luxury to stop and think about what to do exactly.

But as he was close to hitting her he was instead blown away by a blast of draconic fire. Phillufy, who had managed to sleep throughout the entire game until now to the point of not waking up even when the base was under attack, was finally up to fight as Joseph woke her up and bribed her with special cookies for her to come and help beat Riser.

Riser sneered as he saw the flame about to hit him, but when he was engulfed in dragon flames of Phillufy he was instantly charred black. While Phillufy was usually extremely lazy and gluttonous it was a fact that she descended from two dragon kings, her talent was possibly the highest amongst the young dragons and Tiamat, her mother, said once that it was not impossible for Phillufy to reach Heavenly Dragon level if she actually tried to.

So yeah, Riser did not stand a chance.

As he clashed on the ground he saw himself surrounded by Rias, who was covered in a lot of power of destruction, Gonta, who looked suspiciously like a super sayian with his hair rising from all the energy he was releasing, Koneko, who was there mostly to beat this flaming bird, and to complete Riser's nightmare was Lo'lo who had showed up just in time to close the circle around.

It was then that messages started sounding.

" **Riser Phenex, four pawns and one knight, retired** "

* * *

" **Riser Phenex, three pawns and one knight, retired** "

"We did it, death." Kirika said as she sat on the ground exhausted.

"I know, it is still tiresome through." Shirabe said while sitting down and starting to play with an yoyo.

Kirika and Shirabe had fought an intense battle against the more experienced devil, but the fact it was two on one and their better weaponry ensured their victories even if it was not nearly as easy as they could have wanted.

The fight was quite troublesome, the equipment on Siris' body was strong and her sword was quite great as well, clearly, a masterpiece bought with a lot of money. She also had some magic equipment to protect herself, but it was not that useful in the end. She was simply not that good, but she did manage to make a number at the two new pawns of Rias.

But honestly speaking, even with the lacerations that allowed one to see bone (thanks to Shirabe's attacks with her saws) and the fact she almost lost her soul (Kirika's sacred gear's scythes had an effect similar to a reaper's scythe, but she could create as many as she wanted and launch them) Siris was still the luckiest one of Riser's peerage after Ravel. Even the three pawns that were silently eliminated by Solution had their bodies filled with acid and were under intensive care with risk of death. And the two pawns under the effect of Komaeda's Balance Breaker were slowly loosing their minds and being replaced as simply dolls of Komaeda's madness, trully a terrifying and logic defying sacred gear that fully deserved its status of Longinus.

And it is best not to say anything of the last three pawns remaining, they never even saw Narberal coming as she launched a thunder dragon at them, the burns caused by the intensity of the attack were such that their survival was still in question even with the Phenex Tears being liberally used.

Now the only ones remaining on Riser's side were his Queen, to knights, Riser, and his two roo-

" **Riser Phenex, 2 rooks Retired**."

Yeah, no rooks left.

* * *

Joseph's P.O.V.

Well, that was easy enough.

No, scratch that, it was TOO easy. I mean, seriously, you'd expect two rooks to be able to take at least one punch but when I showed up in front of them they attacked me at the same time but all I had to do was launch two restraining magic circles to stop them in place before giving each one punch. And now they are there, and there, and there, and a bit over there... yeah it was too much.

Seriously, losing both arms they tried to defend themselves and having their chest cavity smashed to the point their heart's condition was in doubt with just one punch I didn't even try that hard, it was pathetic. If they trained at all then they might have been able to take that punch, but now I fear Ravel's reaction when she sees how I likely crippled and possibly killed two of her brother's peerage members.

Not that finding replacements for him would be hard, any brothel would have a selection for him to choose from, he does seem to think of his peerage as holes to fuck after all. I guess he isn't fucked up enough as it is huh?

Anyway, now I should give Rias the time to ensure she can vent her frustrations in Riser and I know for a fact that with Phyllufi and Lo'Lo there than it is for sure that they are fine.

Suddenly, I heard a great sound and comotion to the west and saw a giant robot standing tall.

Well, I guess Riser's Queen at least is not completely useless. But considering she is facing Peko I doubt she will be able to do much very soon.

"Wait a second, I know that face from somewhere." I said pensively as I realized from where I knew it. Oh hell no! "Oh hell no!"

* * *

In the west section of the battlefield, an interesting fight was going on as metal clashed with metal. On one side was Iruma Miu, the Queen of Riser and user of a powerful sacred gear, on the other was Peko that was using a simple steel sword (Joseph had ordered her to use this simpler blade to avoid the higher nobility knowing that they had Nothung for as long as possible since there would be some that would try and take it away by force if needed).

The two were clashing with great intensity. Miu was far back, she created a large number of robots that were fighting off Peko with all they had but they were not able to stop Peko completely. But even so Miu was not in that high a danger since she had created a pair of robots she put under her feet to transport her from one side to another, her speed and the interference of the robots were just about enough to make the two keep a approximately constant distance.

Peko was growing frustrated, she had already been injured before due to Kasper's peerage members and now that she had to defeat Miu she could not even do that right! She was better than this but she was having to limit herself in her speed and with such a low quality sword she had to be extra careful in only damaging the joints and places that were not as guarded.

In the end Peko got pissed enough to decide to actually go at 60% of her speed instead of 30%, that was still slow for her as the fastest in Joseph's peerage but it was still leagues above any ordinary knight and Miu's robots failed to stop her in time.

Peko cut upon Miu's body, but the sword Peko was using had been damaged during the previous squirmish with Miu and the previous fight against Kasper's peerage, breking just as she was about to slice Miu in half. Now Miu only had a superficial cut in her body but she was still terrifyied. She could only think of how alone she was right now and how she wanted someone to protect her. Normally Miu had K1-BO, or Kibo, as a protector but he was destroyied and her king was nowhere to be seen, he having ordered her to stop 'poluting my great air with your stupidity' as he so eloquently said.

She was scared, her body trembling as she wanted to survive against this 'sword demon' as she would later call Peko, she was so afraid that she could not even think about simply retiring to protect herself, her emotions in a mess as she could not help but scream, scream for help and protection above all else.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

And that was the moment it happened. From inside her backpack/sacred gear a voice sounded.

" **Balance Breaker: Imperial Guards of the Mechanical God!** "

And her backpack flashed out of existence. Instead Miu was covered in an even more revealing outfit that looked like a toga used by the Greeks of old but showing even more skin as well as a pair of mechanized gloves covering her hands. She did not know exactly what to do but an instinct within her told her of what she could do with this Balance Breaker, so moving her hands she made all the pieces of robots around fly in the sky together as Peko took a step back and prepared herself to whatever may be necessary.

As she mover her hands the robots she created before and the steel around them from the buildings started creating her robot. It was humanoid, her red chest and shoulders but with the chest looking suspiciously like a truck's front, the legs and arms were in blue and the head was also blue looking like a helmet you would see on a knight. Anyone that had any past in being a geek or a otaku would recognize that one, it was a functional copy of Optimus Prime in all his height and grandeur. Not only that, as more metal started coming more and more robots were beginning to form as Optimus Prime stood in front of Peko.

In the distance it was possible to hear Joseph gushing over this awesomeness, something that Rias would also be doing just as much if not for her being too busy by destroying over and over Riser's crotch while Lo'lo kept him in place with a foot on Riser's chest while punching his face.

Honestly, Peko was not that impressed. She was not particularly interested in most of the things her master enjoyed so seeing Optimus Prime was not enough for her to go crazy like her master was doing in the distance and… was that a phone in his hand?

Anyway, Peko could feel the power in this mechanical creature's body, it was not insignificant and its size and reach would make it somewhat difficult of a battle. Peko wondered why all her enemies during this game were the worse types for her to fight against, but decided to ignore that, she had a mission to fulfill.

Thinking that she brought out the sword she had strapped in her back, it was no Nothung but it was much better than the one she was using before. It was a heavy black katana that was made using rare materials by the best blacksmith the Barbatus house could find, it was supposed to be her main weapon even if it lacked any inherent magic but with the addition of Nothung this previous Katana became her secondary weapon. But for this fight it would be enough even if she knew Joseph would not be that happy with her showing her Katana.

Holding the Katana at the ready, Peko readied herself as the first wave of robots charged towards her. She was no fool, according to her mental calculations it would be best to deal with the small robots first, wave by wave, whilst decreasing the distance between herself and the Optimus Prime robot. She had seen that, through the gathering of metal, that there was a special receiver built (as cliché as it had been) on top of its forehead. If she managed to strike that, then she would be able to cripple the enemy force enough for her to get the chance to end this fight. When faced against enemies one is weak against, it would be best to try to find a way to quickly end the battle before things turned unfavourable.

Just as the first wave, which looked to be consisting of robotic canines, reached her position, Peko gripped the hilt of her Katana and, once she saw the last and best possible opening, dashed right through the wave itself... whilst dozens of slash marks appeared over their exposed vitals which resulted in them falling to the ground in useless heaps.

With the Katana in hand Peko accelerated towards Miu, her form blurring as she used the entire area as a pathway to her target. Optimus Prime punched the area where she was about to arrive, but with one swing of her katana the dust was cut and a gash appeared in the robot's arm. That allowed the second wave to assault her, a wave consisting of more canines but with Knights mounting them. Each of them had javelins for left arms and grenade launchers for right arms, arms which they aimed at Peko and unloaded a rainfall of Grenades on her.

As a response to this, Peko flipped into a defensive stance, performing a technique taught to her by her father meant for both offensive and defensive purposes: The Seikuken. A combat method that involves controlling the entire radius within one's arm length, creating a spherical shield around oneself. It can be used for offence and defence, but Weapon users, such as Peko herself, had the capability to extend the range to several feet around them with the additional length of their weapons, allowing them to defend even at mid-range. More experienced fighters can even extend the range with minimal lengths by using air pressure (just like her father). However, a Seikūken with a larger radius is not necessarily better, as this can make it easier to generate openings in the Seikuken's defences. Besides having a larger radius, having a Seikūken with a very small radius can also be useful too.

In Peko's case, her Seikuken could extend to the reach of her sword, and she had already overcome the limitations behind this technique resulting in her gaining one HELL of a defensive and offensive powerup. As the rain of Grenades fell on her, Peko unleashed her techniques power, resulting in every Grenade which entered her line of striking range being cut, cut co clean and precisely that they wouldn't have had a SINGLE chance to detonate. Not in a million years. The Grenades fell down to the ground, useless before Peko broke the Seikuken and broke into a mad dash, slipping through the second wave by sliding beneath the Canine steeds... slicing through their tendons to stop their mobility before brutally executing them from behind. She used the last one to get some air though, doing this by jumping onto the Knight's shoulders and using it as a stepping stone to jump high into the air.

As she ascended, the Optimus Prime Robot swung its right fist towards her, thrusting forwards and, from its wrist, a set of five missiles shot out and flew towards her. Each of them aimed themselves towards her breasts, torso and face, according to her calculations of their trajectory, but Peko remained calm ever more. 'I have about 4.54 seconds before they impact... at least a couple seconds more than usual...' The young Knight thought to herself as she eyed Miu… who looked to be about to run at the slightest sign of danger.

… Not on her watch. She had wasted WAY too much time fighting this bitch, she'd not let this slide any longer!

Once the missiles had gotten close enough, Peko aimed her sword and made a backhanded swing, flicking a missile aside before planting her feet onto it. She then bounced over each of them, using them as stepping stones to fall towards the Optimus Prime. Seeing that its enemy was coming closer, the robot threw its opposite fist towards her with its elbow joint releasing a stream of infernal flames, flames which increased its propulsion speed, its aim being to knock her out of the skies. Unfortunately for it, Peko had anticipated this attack, and thus she responded by flipping over the punch, flipping down the arm, and jumping towards the robot's neck...

"Hah!"

...to perfectly decapitate the damn thing.

"Whaaaaaa?!"

Miu's shriek filled the air as she fearfully tried to get away, much to the ire of the stoic swordswoman as Peko, in a moment of reflexive action, reared her Katana backwards before hurling it like a javelin, impaling Miu through the back of her head and knocking her to the ground. She became unresponsive in seconds as her form vanished into blue sparkles.

 **Riser Phenex: One Queen, retires**

Back with Riser he just heard how his queen was defeated and could not help but curse her.

"That useless whore, can't she even take down one enemy or serve as a defense to me?"

As Riser said that he was distracted just long enough for Rias to launch a wave of PoD at his face, his smug smile vanished as his face was consumed by the destruction power, even if it regenerated quickly enough.

As Riser was about to say something else Koneko appeared behind him and gave a punch with her very basic Senjutsu, this one was not as obviously damaging but the feeling it left was not any weaker than the strike from Rias. Riser tried to attack her by launching a wave of fire, only to have it stopped by a hand from Gonta.

"Gentleman protects friends so Gonta do the same, bad person Gonta can discipline." And with that Gonta gave one punch with the same hand that took all the fire Riser launched, the punch was strong enough to nearly throw Riser to the other side of the arena if not for Lo'lo who intervened by dropkicking Riser on the floor, which cracked to the point if it was any worse the whole arena would be broken in two.

Riser turned to Lo'lo and yelled.

"How dare a mut like you touch someone as nobles as me!?"

Lo'lo simply shrugged and said with a smirk on his scarred face.

"Sorry, but I don't see any noble here. All I see is prey, and you is an annoying one." And with that Lo'lo bitchslaped Riser who had his entire lower jaw removed from his body in impact, only for it to regrow after a few seconds.

"You all don't understand? I can keep on with this little game as long as I want! I am a Phenex, I never tire and I never LOSE!" Riser yelled before Rias launched another ball of PoD, blasting him to nothing as he started regenerating.

"Regenerate all you want Riser, I will still beat you!" Rias answered as she created an even greater amount of PoD before launching it at Riser just as he finished regenerating. This time he managed to answer it by launching a large amount of flames at the attack, cancelling it out in the end.

"Dearest Rias, you know you yourself can't beat me. I am a superior brand of devil, you and this lot will never defeat me!" Riser said as he laughed even as he ignored another strike from Koneko.

However, just as Riser was about to say more magic circles started appearing around him as a larger one covered the ground, from the larger one darkness covered everyone inside as the viewers could no longer see anything. Those nobles that were spectating the fight started cursing as they demanded to be able to see what was going on, but there was nothing to be done.

Joseph had made his move, he had spent a considerable amount of time trying to understand the inner workings of the viewing from the spectators, he had decided since before the match that beating Riser would demand not only winning against him but also making him give up, and while doing so would be more than a pleasure he knew that it would demand excessive violence. Ultimately Joseph would become the son-in-law to the Phenex house and it would not look good if he were to be views torturing Riser, but such a good chance to inflict pain on him was far too good to pass up so he decided to be creative.

Using the magic knowledge that he had Joseph spent much of the game not actually fighting to ensure he could focus on determining how to better close up from view spectators, this way he could go as wild as he wanted before allowing Riser to admit defeat.

Inside the spell's effect area Riser was struggling madly. The magic circles around him were locking him in place so thoroughly that he had no hope of moving at all much less attacking anyone, he was no different from a normal human being in shackles.

As Rias and the others saw this Joseph approached, he had a smile that was overly refreshing in his face as he turned to Rias and said.

"Rias-chan, be a dear and use all your power added to what your pawn has been accumulating to teach this idiot a lesson. But please be sure to leave some of him to me, I have some educations I need to input in his little brain to ensure that our future encounters will not be such that would affect the image of the house Phenex or my own, as well as teach him some proper manners." Joseph said, 'teaching' Riser how not to mess up with him in the future and ensuring that he would not try to interfere with his relationship with Ravel was on the top of his 'to do' list.

Rias nodded firmly, she looked at Issei who nodded his head and was to touch Rias when Joseph's voice rang near his ears.

"And don't try to touch my woman more than needed, otherwise you will be losing one head later and I can't assure you which one."

Issei felt a shiver ran down his spine, it was not that needed of a warning as he would respect his king anyway, but Issei could feel that this treat was less about now than it was for now onwards. Also, the fact Joseph said 'my woman' was not lost on Issei.

'Tch, lucky bastard gets all the best Opai.'

Ignoring this Issei channeled his power into Rias, the red-haired girl moaned as the new wave of power entered her being and Issei was mesmerized by her beauty for a moment, but that faded when he saw Joseph smile that showed promises of making him like a certain bald man from Game of Thrones that was a master of whispers.

Yep, Issei's excitement died down instantly... kind of. What? He is a healthy pervert and the sexiest girl he has ever seen in right by his side so what else is to be expected?

Rias, who failed to notice any of that, raised her hand to the sky. Her energy skyrocketed thanks to the new energy Issei transferred her. With righteous fury burning in her eyes she lowered her raised hand to point right at the currently bound Riser, a magic circle in her hands as POD focused in her hands like never before as she shot the said blast.

There was no sound, no explosion, just the utter annihilation of most of Riser's body as he couldn't even yell in pain as his lungs were gone much like most of his organs. There was a unprecedented pain running through his as not only his healing was taking much longer to properly enter in effect due to the POD eating away at him whenever he tried to recover. Normally he would overpower it by simply having more energy than Rias but with the addition of Issei's Boosted Gear the reality was quite different.

The burns made from her current POD were not ending as they kept silently eating away at Riser, like a silent and cold fury that was making sure he would suffer the most he ever did in his life. She only stoped the power when she saw the blond jerk begin to turn purple, the lack of oxigen close to killing him.

As he recovered he laughed a bit and said.

"See? Even your best can't stop me from healing was incapable of making any real damage into me. I am supreme just like a true Phoenix!" Riser said making everyone wonder if he was alright in the head.

"Well, I guess this is it Rias." Joseph said, Rias looked shocked as she thought she had lost due to not being able to make Riser give up even after almost killing him but when she saw Joseph's expression she calmed down. "Now you must leave me and him alone for a while, I promise that when I am done he will be just about ready to give up on this game." Joseph explained.

Rias nodded and turned to leave, Issei trailing behind her even as he didn't understand why were they leaving.

"Buchou, shouldn't we try harder to make the chicken give up?"

"There is no need Issei. All we have to do is leave this place so as to let Joseph do his work, he would probably restrain himself if I am there as he doesn't want me seeing anything that might tarnish his image that I have." 'And I do like when my man shows what he is there for, he truly is perfect for me'. The last part was what Rias thought. She understood clearly that the Barbatus family was not a peaceful bunch and that knowing torture techniques was a necessary part of their position, but the fact he tried to avoid letting her see him doing this was his own form of carrying for her.

Or at least it was what she thought, actually, the reason was to not let her see the mad smile on his face as he slowly turned to his prey.

* * *

 **AN:**

 **And this is what I did so far, following that I still didn't write but if there is anyone willing to help by being a Beta reader it would be great as with this I could restart working on this fic. Another thing, I already am posting the third option I mentioned before, the one where the MC is the younger brother of Rossweise and I think it is going well. I am thinking on trying my hand on one where the MC is the son of Griselda and Vasco as well as having the Sephiroth Grail that is mutated to form 7 cards inside it, the seven class cards.**

 **It is just an idea for now but I could change it depending on a Beta's help. Everyone is welcome and experience isn't a requirement, just being able to give ideas and point out mistakes.**


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